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COreRIGHT DEPOSm 



THE RURAL SCHOOL 

ITS METHODS AND MANAGEMENT 



BY 

HORACE M. CULTER 

PROPESSOR OF RURAL SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION 

KANSAS STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

EMPORIA, KANSAS 

AND 

JULL\ M. STONE 

TEACHER, MODEL RURAL SCHOOL 

WESTERN KANSAS STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

HAYS, KANSAS 




SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY 

BpsTpr^ NEW yore: Chicago 






COPYPaGHT, IQI3, BY 

SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY 



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PREFACE 

The present treatise on school methods and manage- 
ment is intended for teachers in the elementary country 
schools and for those in normal and high schools who 
expect to go into the rural schools to teach. The writer 
has studiously avoided all suggestions especially applica- 
ble to the management of city schools, and has pur- 
posely confined himself to such plans and methods as will 
be suited to the country school. While consolidation is 
an important movement, and many more weak districts 
should be united, yet in many parts of the United States 
the time is far distant when the one-room country school 
will, or should, be discontinued. A one-room school in 
the rural districts, taught by a competent teacher, is still 
a good place for a boy or girl to get the elements of an 
education. 

The United States Commissioner of Education re- 
ports that in the school year 1907-1908 there were five and 
one half million school children and one hundred thirty- 
four thousand teachers in cities of four thousand or 
more population; in the outside districts, there were 
eleven milHon children and three hundred sixty-one thou- 
sand teachers. In the state of Kansas there are two and 
one third times as many children in the one- and two- 
room schools and nearly five times as many teachers, 
as there are in the cities and towns maintaining graded 
systems of schools. From the above it seems safe to 
conclude that in the United States there are twice as 

V 



VI 



Preface 



many teachers in the rural schools and nearly twice as 
many children. But, up to the present time, the em- 
phasis has been placed upon city school management 
and city supervision, and many of the suggestions offered 
do not fit rural conditions at all. It is the country teacher, 
especially, who needs instruction in management. The 
one-room rural school with the six to nine grades and 
twenty to twenty-five or more classes, is a much more 
complex institution to manage than is the one room of a 
city system. And if it were not, the city teacher is placed 
at a much greater advantage than the country teacher, 
for if assistance is needed, the city teacher may call 
to her aid the principal of the building, or he may 
consult the superintendent. On the other .hand, the 
country teacher must be at the same time teacher, prin- 
cipal and superintendent. When in need, she may on 
Saturday drive ten or twenty miles and interview the 
county superintendent; or, if in dire distress, at the risk 
of her reputation as a teacher, she may ask that the 
superintendent come to her school and assist in settling 
some difficulty. 

But an awakening interest in rural schools is evident 
on every hand, and many are coming to believe not only 
that there should be better supervision in the rural dis- 
trict, but also that the boy and the girl of the country 
should have as good school privileges as the boy and the 
girl of the city. The environment of the country school 
is better, the health and vigor of the young people of 
the rural district make them more receptive of educational 
advantages; there is less to distract from the school 
and its interests; yet many of the schools of the country 
are far behind the schools of the city. The truth of this 
statement is proved by the fact that many farmers move 
to town every year that they may send their children 



Preface 



Vll 



to school. Again, six months of school in the country 
are not the equivalent of nine months in the city, and 
this is about the proportion of educational advantages 
offered in many of our states. In order that the country 
child may have as good school privileges as the city 
child, the country must have better schoolhouses and 
equipment; better supervision and more of it; longer 
terms of school; courses of study in harmony with rural 
conditions; and better teachers who have been trained 
for rural school work. 

Besides school management the rural teacher needs 
to know better methods, especially in primary subjects. 
Realizing this deficiency, a few chapters in primary 
methods, by Miss Stone, have been added, which are 
adapted to the work of country schools. 

Out of an experience of many years as a teacher in 
rural, village and county high schools, and as a teacher 
of teachers, have the pages of this book been written; 
and it is offered to the public with the hope that it may 
add its mite to the improvement of rural schools. 

A SUGGESTION 

While this book is intended primarily for elementary 
teachers, a more advanced study of the subjects con- 
tained in Part One may be had by supplementing the 
study of the book with the use of the reference bibliog- 
raphy which follows each chapter. Such a course, well 
done, will give advanced students quite a comprehen- 
sive view of Rural School Management. 

HOKACE M. CULTER. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

In treating so many subjects as are contained in this 
book, it is not to be supposed that any one or two per- 
sons can be authority on all. As the reader peruses these 
pages, he will observe that many persons have contrib- 
uted to the contents of this book. To these the authors 
express their grateful appreciation. 

But special acknowledgment is due Joseph H. Hill, 
president of the Kansas State Normal School, for his 
hearty encouragement throughout the preparation of 
this volume; to Professor R. H. Ritchie, head of the 
Speech Arts Department of the Kansas State Normal 
School, for his careful work in correcting the manu- 
script; to Professor Frank A. Beach, director of music 
of the Kansas State Normal School, for writing the 
chapter on Music; to Professor W. G. Lewis, formerly 
professor of physics, for the chapter on Nature Study; 
to Mrs. Emily K. Hoelcel, for many helpful suggestions 
and for her work in criticising the chapters on Methods; 
to Mr. C. J. Brown of Louisiana for valuable sugges- 
tions; and to Wilhs H. Kerr, of the Kansas Normal 
School library; to the Smith Heating Company and to 
the Waterman-Waterbury Heating Company for illus- 
trative material, and to many others who have so kindly 
made suggestions and contributed material for the vari- 
ous chapters of the book. They are deserving of a share 
of credit for whatever merit this volume may have and 
for whatever success may attend it. 

viii 



CONTENTS 

Part I 
RURAL SCHOOL MANAGEMENT 



CHAPTEB 



PAGK 



I. The Rural School a Laggard 1 

II. School Site and Grounds 5 

Choosing the Site — The School Grounds — A 
School Plant. 

III. The House 13 

The Need of Better School Buildings — Three 
Types of Houses — Equipment. 

IV. School. Hygiene and Sanitation . . . 28 

Precautions against Germs — Correcting Physical 
Defects — Lighting and Seating — Ventilation. 

V. The Teacher — His Qualifications .... 45 
Physical Equipment — Mental Equipment — 
Attention to Business Details. 

VI. The Teacher — His Personality .... 56 
The Development of a Strong PersonaUty. 

VII. The First Day ... • • ^^- ^ ; ; ^^ 

Preparation for the First Day — Methods ot 
Procedure for the First Day. 

VIII. The Daily Program . . . • • • • 71 
The Study Program — Arrangement of Classes. 

IX. The Recitation . . • ■ ■, : v ,, • ^^ 
Purposes of the Recitation — Mechamcs of the 
Recitation. 

X. The Recitation (continued) . . ■ / , • .• ^^ 
Devices of the Recitation — Methods of the Reci- 
tation — Induction and Deduction. 

XL Teaching Pupils How to Study v. i • * ^^^ 

Stages in the Art of Study — Hints on Studying. 

XII. Play and Playgrounds . ■ . c r. ^ au ^A ^^^ 

The Function of Play — How the School bhould 
Provide for Play. 

ix 



X Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XIII. The Library and Its Uses 125 

Acquiring a Library — What to Buy — Using 
the Library — Suggested Plan of Organiza- 
tion for Small School Library — A Working 
Library for Country Schools. 

XIV. School Government 143 

Aids to School Government — The Infliction 
of Punishments — Corporal Punishment as 
Viewed by the Courts — Placing Pupils on 
their Honor — The Psychology of Motor Ac- 
tivities — The Use of Incentives. 

XV. School Ethics 159 

The Need of Ethical Teaching — Methods of 
Ethical Teaching. 

XVI. Agriculture in Rural Schools .... 169 
Overcoming Obstacles — Outline of Work for 
a Rural School — A Lesson Plan — School 
Gardens — Contests and Clubs — The View 
Point of the Country. 

XVII. Duties of the Teacher . . . . . . 184 

To the District — To Pupils — To the County 
Superintendent — To the Neighborhood — 
To Self. 

XVIII. The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher . . 200 
The Lesser Opportunities — The Great Oppor- 
tunities — What Has been Accomplished by 
Teachers in Country Schools. 

XIX. Consolidation . 222 

Changed Conditions — Origin of the District 
Unit — Evils of the District System — The 
Larger Unit — Reports in Regard to Consoli- 
dation in Several States — Standardization of 
the Schools — Requirements for a Standard 
School. 

Part II 

RURAL SCHOOL METHODS 

I. Primary Reading . 245 

Importance of Reading — Kinds of Reading — 
Methods of Teaching Reading. 

II. Primary Reading {continued) 254 

The Combined Method — Practical Suggestions. 

III. Language Work 266 

Elementary Grammar — Language Proper. 



Contents xi 



CHAPTER 



PAGE 



IV. Busy Work, What and How 282 

Busy Work for Younger Pupils — Busy Work 
for Older Pupils. 

V. Numbers 295 

The Number Idea — Objects of Number Teach- 
ing. 

VI. Learning to Write 310 

Teaching the Beginners — Materials — Dis- 
cussion of Methods. 

VII. Drawing 319 

How to Begin — Perspective — Scene Drawing 
— Suggestive Drawings for the Different 
Months — Paper-cutting and Design. 

VIII. Music 337 

Importance — Equipment — Teaching in 
Groups — Appreciation of Music. 

IX. Physical Science . .349 

Interest of the Subject — Lesson I: Why Hot 
Air Goes Up the Chimney — Lesson II: 
Physiology — Lesson III: Air Pressure — 
Subjects for other Lessons — The Fairy .Chil- 
dren of the Ocean; 

X. Geography 360 

Suggestions for Oral or Primary Geography — 
Map Study — The Text Reinforced — Ad- 
vanced Geography. 



PART I 
RURAL SCHOOL MANAGEMENT 



The Rural School 

Chapter I 
THE RURAL SCHOOL A LAGGARD 

Some writers and lecturers are inclined to picture the 
rural school of to-day in a decadent and dilapidated con- 
dition. They would lead us to believe that the country 
school of our forefathers was a much better school than 
the country school of the present time. Although there 
are a f«w respects in which the schools of three or four 
decades ago were better than the schools of the present, 
the truth seems to be not that they were, necessarily, 
better schools, but that they were more nearly on a par 
with the conditions of country life. 

In many respects, the twentieth-century rural school 
is far in advance of the schools of the nineteenth century. 
The houses are better, and better equipped; the teachers, 
though younger, are better educated; the curriculum is 
richer and more nearly adapted to the needs of child life; 
the school term is longer and the advantages of school are 
more nearly within reach of every child. There remain 
comparatively few of the old log or sod schoolhouses of 
pioneer days. Modern furniture has replaced the uncom- 
fortable and unhygienic furniture made by our fore- 
fathers. The painted blackboard has given place to a 
good composition blackboard or to real slate. There are 

1 



2 The Rural School 

more maps, charts and illustrative material than were 
in use in the old school. 

The true basis of complaint is not that the rural school 
has not improved, but that it has not kept and is not keep- 
ing, step with the onward progress of our civilization. It 
is a laggard in the race with its sister, the city school. 

While city school boards have been willing to expend 
large sums of money for good locations for buildings, in 
some instances paying fabulous prices for land and even 
going to the roofs for garden space and play room, the 
rural school has been expecting some one to donate land 
for a site, and has been willing to go to an unfavorable 
location in order that forty or fifty dollars might be saved 
to the district. The city schools have planted flowers 
and trees, have made lawns and watered them, and have 
hired janitors for the whole year in order that these might 
be properly safeguarded. On the other hand, to a great 
extent rural communities have considered these things 
all right for the city, but have not even given them a 
thought as being a part of the country school equipment. 

While the cities have been, and are still, putting thou- 
sands of dollars into beautiful school buildings, equipped 
with every modern convenience, sanitary and comfort- 
able to the highest degree; the country has thought itself 
well equipped if it had a structure of the ''Box Car '^ 
type. Little or no thought has been given to lighting and 
heating according to modern methods. Although the 
city has been using single desks in its buildings for years, 
and is trying adjustable chairs and desks of latest pat- 
tern, the rural schools seem to think that the double desk 
is the only one manufactured. The city has invested much 
thought and no little expense in the architectural beauty 
of the buildings; the country seems to think that if the 
building is painted, sufficient money has been expended. 



The Rural School a Laggard 3 

While the city has been spending money freely in order 
to install sanitary closets, the country has just passed 
the stage of two-closets-in-one-building style, and has 
just reached the place where every school ground has two 
outhouses, one for each sex. No city plans a building 
without providing for a system of ventilation. Often a 
large part of the expense is for heating and ventilation, — 
some even washing the air before forcing it into the 
schoolrooms. Yet, up to the present time, the friendly 
cracks have furnished inlets for most of the fresh air in 
country school buildings. 

While the cities are demanding well educated and thor- 
oughly trained teachers, often not accepting a teacher 
until he has proved himself by two or three years' ex- 
perience; the country has been giving these teachers 
opportunities to make their initial trials in its schools, 
and, if they are successful, it has allowed them to go into 
the city, simply because the city would pay more than 
the country was willing to pay. This has resulted in 
giving the city the advantage of the experienced teacher 
and, as a rule, the teacher of strong personality. 

While the cities are spending millions for playgrounds 
and their equipment, the country has done almost noth- 
ing along this line. The cities are buying land in the 
heart of the most populous districts, establishing play 
centers there and furnishing superintendents and direct- 
ors of play. Up to the present time most people have 
thought that play has but one beneficial result, — that 
of furnishing exercise to the individual, and that the 
country boy and girl get plenty of exercise in their work, 
and therefore need no play. '' The country is dominated 
by work.^' It has lost, in large measure, the play spirit 
and has too often substituted evil and vice; until no longer 
is the country a safe moral retreat for boys and girls. 



4 The Rural School 

While the cities, under great disadvantages, have been 
teaching nature, the country has done Uttle, though sur- 
rounded on every hand by nature's handiwork. While 
all city schools, worthy the name, have libraries more or 
less well equipped, many schools of the country have ,no 
semblance of one, not even a dictionary. While the cities 
long ago realized the importance of consolidation and 
concentration of forces, in order that expert supervision 
might be employed, the country is just beginning to 
realize that the consolidated school is a desirable type for 
rural communities. 

' But there is a brighter day coming for rural education. 
School men everywhere are thinking, talking and plan- 
ning for the rural school. It is beginning to be realized 
that there are advantages to be derived from life in the 
country which cannot be duplicated by city life; that the 
country school, though a laggard, has some good features 
which, if utilized, make for good citizenship and noble 
manhood. No well informed person can deny that the 
product of these country schools has resulted, in many 
instances, in the highest type of American manhood and 
womanhood. All that seems to be needed, in order to 
bring the country school to a degree of efficiency commen- 
surate with its opportunities, is an awakened sentiment 
on the part of country people which will demand for the 
rural schools of this country, (1) a better and more effi- 
cient organization, (2) closer and more effective supervis- 
ion, and (3) more competent and better trained teachers. 

As stated in the preface, it is not within the province 
of this book to treat all these subjects; but rather to 
limit the discussion to methods and management, adapted 
to rural conditions, so that the young teacher who goes 
into the country may be forewarned and forearmed. 



Chapter n 

SCHOOL SITE AND GROUNDS 
CHOOSING THE SITE 

Selfish Motives. — Where the schoolhouse shall be 
located has been the source of numerous contentions, 
which, in many cases, have lasted for years. Ofttimes 
these contentions have set neighbor against neighbor, 
and have resulted in great detriment to the school inter- 
ests, because they have been fostered by selfish motives 
and have not been based on broad economic and hygienic 
principles. In the selection of the present sites for school- 
houses, one idea seems to have prevailed, and that idea 
has been to get the schoolhouse as near to '^ my farm " as 
possible. Apparently, no thought has been taken with 
regard to the suitableness of the soil, slope of the ground, 
or its elevation or depression. 

The Idea of Centrality. — Although the house should 
be located near the center of the district, there are other 
considerations. This principle of centrality is not so 
binding that, in order to place the house in the center of 
a district, it be located in a pine woods or in the middle 
of a pasture, where the children will be in danger of being 
maimed .by the cattle, and where it can be reached only 
by leaving the public highway; or that it be set on top 
of a hill where nothing except a few rocks have been able 
to remain, the thought being, no doubt, that since noth- 

5 



6 



The Rural School 



ing else will grow there, surely the tree of knowledge will; 
or finally, that it be situated in a low, marshy place where 
the mud will be a source of annoyance and inconvenience 
for a large part of the year. 

The schoolhouse ought to be located near a public road, 
in a place accessible to all in the district. The soil ought 
to be the richest the district affords, such, at least, as will 
produce grass, flowers and trees. This will preclude the 




THERE SHOULD BE A PLOT FOR A SCHOOL GARDEN 



hilltop where there is no soil. It should not be in low 
swampy ground, but in a place well drained. The people 
should realize that as they are establishing a plant in 
which to grow boys and girls, everything ought to be of 
the highest quality available. 

Size. — The regulation size of the school ground in one 
western prairie state is one acre. Provided that the 
school is small and there are no large boys and girls that 
need room for their various games, and provided that no 
attention is to be paid to experimental agriculture or 



School Site and Grounds 7 

school gardening, this is large enough. If the pupils are 
to play " ante-over/' " black man " and '' tag," this plot 
will do. But if there are to be flowers, trees, a place for 
the little ones to play, and a playground for the older 
ones, an acre is not enough. If there is to be a plot for a 
school garden, a piece of land for experimental agriculture 
and room for stables for the horses of those who drive to 
school, an acre is not nearly enough. 

For a good-sized district school, there ought to be from 
an acre and one half to two acres; for a consolidated 
school or a very large district school, especially where 
agriculture and school gardening are to be taught, there 
should be not less than three acres. This will give room 
for the house, playgrounds for the little folks, tennis 
court, baseball diamond, stables and sheds, plots for 
agriculture and gardens. 

THE SCHOOL GROUNDS 

Plan of School Grounds. — Where feasible, the house 
should be situated at a crossroad. It will then be more 
accessible to patrons of the district, and a corner makes a 
better location for the grounds. The house should be 
placed near one corner of the lot, leaving a small L-shaped 
place between the house and the sides of the lot for trees, 
grass and flowers. A four-foot walk should lead from the 
road to the main entrance. This may be made by using 
two-by-fours for the edges, and filling in between with 
coal cinders and salt. This will in time pack into quite 
a hard surface, and is much better than no walk. The 
cost of such a walk is insignificant. Of course, cement or 
brick is the better material. 

If the water-closets are to be separate from the build- 
ing, a walk should lead to each from its side of the house. 



8 The Rural School 

The closets should face in the same direction as the 
house. In front of each and extending back on the sides 
next to the house, there should be latticework completely 
screening the doors from the road and the house. Morn- 
ing-glories, or some other vine, may be planted to run 
over this latticework. Good screens may be made by 
using common boards in place of the latticework. These 
should be capped by a two-by-four and a strip of mould- 
ing, and the whole should be well painted. Vines here 
and at a window or over the coal house will add much to 
the looks of the yard. The well should be located at one 
side and convenient to the front door. The stables and 
sheds should be at the back of the lot. 

Trees. — A school ground will not be complete without 
shrubs and trees. Why are there not more trees around 
schoolhouses? Simply because no one has been interested 
in having them planted. Who must make the start? 
The teacher will have to be the prime mover in the enter- 
prise. Let the teacher call to his assistance the boys and 
girls of the school. Getting them interested in plant- 
ing a tree is worth as much or more than the planted tree. 
Old men like to plant trees, young men do not seem to 
have time, or think that it will be too long before the 
tree will mature. The old men and the young people of 
the school can be interested in observing Arbor Day. In 
his book '' Among Country Schools," Supt. O. J. Kern 
has this to say about observing Arbor Day: " Let us ob- 
serve Arbor Day in every school with appropriate songs 
and exercises; but let us not forget to plant when planting 
needs to be done. For schools whose premises are tree- 
less the proper thing to do would be to dig rather than 
sing, if only one could be done in a day. What is the 
use of singing about trees and ending with that, when 
planting and caring for trees is needed? 



School Site and Grounds 



9 



" No, Arbor Day has not been observed in the proper 
spirit, when some afternoon a Uttle boy recites, ' What 
Do We Plant When We Plant the Tree,' a class of girls 
sing, ' The Brave Old Oak,' and then all go to work on 




THE UMBRELLA TREE 
A good shade tree of the South 

the arithmetic lesson, leaving the ground as desolate as 
it was before. 

The kind of trees to be planted will be suggested by 
the trees that grow in the neighboring forests and are 
cultivated for shade in the dooryards of the neighborhood. 
In many parts of the middle west, the problem is not so 



10 The Rural School 

much what to plant, as how to get the trees to live after 
they are planted. Of course where there is not rain dur- 
ing the summer months, and scarcely any during the 
winter, trees will not grow without irrigation. In the 
semi-arid districts there are three ways of growing trees: 
first, by watering them; second, by cultivating the 
ground, keeping down all the weeds and keeping the sur- 
face of the ground loose and mellow; third, by mulching 
with a heavy coat of straw or hay, or something that will 
conserve the moisture that falls. The first of these plans 
could be used for a few trees by having a windmill to 
pump the water; then, if the ground were so arranged 
that a ditch would lead the water from one tree to an- 
other, with a very little care the trees could be watered 
throughout the summer. The second way is hardly prac- 
tical in the ordinary district, but the third could be easily 
carried out. One mulching a year would be sufficient. 

The hardiest tree for the western plains is the honey 
locust. It will live through more drought, and will sur- 
vive with less care than any other that has been tried. 
The catalpa also survives well under adverse conditions. 

In planting trees, the playgrounds should be preserved. 
They should be planted around the outside of the grounds, 
in the corners, and about the outbuildings. Nature plants 
her trees in clumps, and Nature knows how to make them 
look well. 

A School Site in the Timber. — In many parts of the 
South and in other timbered districts, the question is 
not so much one of planting trees and getting them to 
grow, as it is a problem of clearing a place for the school- 
house. Too often the clearing is just large enough for 
the house, no room being provided for school garden and 
playground; nor is any thought given to the attractive- 
ness of the place. What an advantage these conditions 



School Site and Grounds 11 

offer over those in the dry prairie districts where it is hard 
to get trees to grow! A little forethought, leaving a tree 
here and one there, digging and transplanting a few- 
native shrubs and vines, rounding out this corner and 
covering that unsightly place, will produce a veritable 
Garden of Eden in the midst of a forest of trees and fur- 
nish a picture lesson for every home in the vicinity. 

A SCHOOL PLANT 

When the rural school comes into its own, when it fur- 
nishes the education which the country needs, when 
patrons and school officers realize the possibilities of the 
school, there will be, not a schoolhouse, but a school 
plant. This will consist of a plot of ground, a house, a 
barn, a home for the teacher, and such other accessories 
as the occupations of the community may demand. The 
house will be fitted for the occupation of a modern school, 
a place where the various lines of work needed under 
present changed conditions can be performed. Manual 
training, domestic science, basket- weaving, agriculture, 
etc., besides the usual program of the school, will enter 
into the consideration of the plans for the house and of 
the selection of the grounds. The teacher's home will be 
a neat modern cottage fitted for the use of the teacher 
and his family. The barn or stable will be for the accom- 
modation of the teacher, and those who ride or drive to 
school. The plot of ground will consist of ten or more 
acres which will be used for playgrounds, school gardens, 
experimental agriculture, etc., and will make possible 
work along lines which will be significant. A gasoline 
engine, a pump, a dynamo and a pressure tank in the 
basement of the schoolhouse will make possible sanitary 
water-closets, and shower baths and electricity with all 



12 The Rural School 

of its conveniences. With no extra expense, except for 
piping and wiring, these conveniences may be carried to 
the teacher's cottage. Somewhere on the grounds, either 
in the basement of the schoolhouse or in the teacher's 
kitchen, a motor could be installed which would run a 
cream separator, a churn or a Babcock tester, a washing 
machine, sewing machine, a vacuum cleaner, or whatever 
other machinery might be desired. 

Under these conditions instruction could be given in 
the household arts, dairying, farm management, etc., by 
the teacher, or in case of a consolidated school, by some 
two or more of the teaching force. 

In some instances there could be located on the school 
site a cannery, a drying kiln, a shop of some kind, or 
some other community interest. The school grounds 
should also be the place where the young people may 
gather for their games. Here should be the meeting 
place of the literary society, the Sunday school, the 
Farmers' Union, the Mothers' Club, etc. It should, in 
fact, be the social center of the whole community. 

REFERENCES 

Barry, Hygiene of the Schoolroom (chapter 1). 1904. 
Silver, Burdett & Co. $1.50. 

Brown, Ornamentation of School Grounds. This may 
be obtained from the State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, Baton Rouge, La. 

Fairchild, School Buildings, School Grounds, and their 
Improvement. This may be obtained from the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Topeka, Kansas. 

Foght, American Rural School (chapter 9). 1910. 
The Macmillan Co., $1.25. 

Kern, Among Country Schools. 1906. Ginn & Co., 
$1.50. 



Chapter HI 

THE HOUSE 

THE NEED OF BETTER SCHOOL BUILDINGS 

When Garfield said, " A pine log with the student on 
one end and Dr. Hopkins on the other would be a liberal 
education," he uttered it to emphasize the importance 
of the teacher, but not to minimize the need of a proper 
house in which the teacher may do his work. 

Silent Forces. — There are certain silent and unseen 
forces in nature which accomplish wonderful results. 
A very little water in the crevice of a rock may, when it 
freezes, loosen a huge boulder from its bed and send it 
thundering down into the valley below. The silent action 
of the sun's rays breaks up the rivers of ice and lifts into 
the air tons of moisture that later come down in showers 
and storms. So in the realm of culture there are certain 
forces, which, though silent, are nevertheless powerful, 
exerting influences and ennobling characters. In one of 
his orations, Cicero says that he placed before him the 
portraits of great men in order that by beholding their 
likenesses his life might be influenced by their noble 
examples and that he might grow more noble by looking 
upon their faces. 

Better Houses. — The beautiful has always been as- 
sociated with the good, and the ugly with the bad. The 
modern house should have a more pleasing architectural 
appearance. The older types of houses were made with 

13 



14 



The Rural School 



two objects in view: cheapness and usefulness. The 
question of beauty did not enter into the consideration 
of their construction. They served their day and pur- 
pose and were more or less suited to the times, but con- 
ditions have changed and people are building better 
houses in which to live and better barns in which to 
house their stock; they are buying better vehicles in 





■:dSV-¥ ■• "■'■■■ ' SHlf -'SBISi J'l 




^s 



A SOD SCHOOLHOUSE OF WESTERN KANSAS 



which to ride and are able to build better houses in 
which to educate their children, — houses that are more 
pleasing to the eye and which speak of the beautiful in 
life and character. 

If there were no other reasons why there should be 
better schoolhouses than those given above, they ought 
to be sufficient; but there are other reasons why the 
buildings in almost every district should be better than 
they are at the present time. 



The House 



15 




A BOX CAR SCHOOLHOUSE 



Economy. — It is a matter of economy that the school- 
house should be comfortable. In India the priest may 
gather his pupils under the shade of a tree, for he has 
not much to teach them and his school has not the vim 
of an American school; but in this country of extremes 
of heat and cold, such simplicity is not to be thought 
of. In this land of the strenuous life, the house which 
will accomplish the most in a given time is the one to 
be considered. The log cabin with its puncheon floor 
would do for the pioneers of this country, for it was the 
best they could afford. The log cabin, as we have said 
before, has served its day and age in the hills of the east 
and in the mountain regions of the west, as the sod school- 
house has on the plains of the middle west. The one 
gave place to the '' little red schoolhouse " if such there 
has ever been, as the other has given place to the white 
Box Car type. This might be called the age of the 



16 



The Rural School 



Box Car schoolhouse. It is a better house than the log 
or the sod house, but perhaps we are entering the era of a 
new and more scientific and hygienic type of school 
building. 

The actual outlay for one of these modern houses 
will be more than for either of the other two, but in the 
long run it will be more economical. It will be better 
heated, better hghted, better ventilated and better 




A BETTER HOUSE OF MODERN TYPE 
Containing a workroom, fuel room, modern lighting, heating and ventilation 



equipped. Both teachers and pupils can do more work, 
and work which will be more efficient, in it than in a 
building of the old type; hence it will yield a better 
income, on the investment. 

Hygienic Considerations. — As suggested above, the 
modern house will be more hygienic. Schoolhouses, when 
new, are very close and need constant ventilation; when 
old, they are too open and are hard to keep warm. In a 



The House 17 

new house, on account of faulty ventilation, colds or 
other contagious diseases are likely to spread through 
the whole school, while in an old house, the difficulty in 
keeping the building warm results in more or less 
sickness. 

Heating and Ventilation. — The subject of heating 
and ventilation will be discussed at greater length in a 
later chapter on Hygiene and Sanitation. The school- 
house should be heated by some system other than a 
common stove set in the middle of the room. With 
this latter method, invariably some will be too warm 
and others too cold. There should be some method of 
ventilation other than that obtained by opening the doors 
and windows. Hon. C. P. Cary, State Superintendent 
of Wisconsin, has suggested the following as a method 
of ventilation. The chimney built from the ground up 
is made extra large so that an eight-inch heavy iron 
pipe may extend within the chimney from the point 
where the stove pipe enters the flue up to and a little 
above the top of the chimney. This iron pipe receives 
the pipe from the stove and all the srnoke and gases go 
up through this and not through the flue proper. Near 
the floor a register is put in the chimney, furnishing an 
outlet for the foul air of the room. The inner pipe heats 
the air in the flue and causes a draft in the flue proper. 
If now the stove is set in one corner of the room near the 
chimney, and surrounded with a good jacket into which 
fresh air is admitted through a pipe from outside, a good 
system of heating and ventilation will be provided for 
the room. 

It is quite essential that the flue be quite large, say 
sixteen inches square; that the jacket entirely surround 
the stove (a shield will not answer the purpose), and 
that it contain a door that may be closed tightly; that 



18 The Rural School 

the cool fresh air be so admitted that it will be heated 
before it can fall to the floor; that all doors and windows, 
and ceiling and floor of the room be tight so that the 
warm fresh air will not escape and so that the cold air 
will not enter the room before being heated. 

Many schoolhouses could be heated by a furnace. A 
basement will be required, but this provides a place for 
fuel and other conveniences, such as a pump and a tank 
for supplying water for toilet rooms, and imder some 
conditions a room for manual training or play. Of course 
fresh air and an outlet for the impure air should be pro- 
vided with the furnace, about as with the stove and 
jacket. 

Light. — In the modern schoolhouse the light is not 
admitted from both sides of the room as in the common 
schoolhouse, but comes mostly from one side. If there 
could be no break in the surface admitting light it would 
be all the better. Some sunshine should enter the room, 
but the north light is the best for general purposes and 
should come from the left side. The walls should be 
calcimined or painted with a paint giving a dull finish. 
A glossy or varnished surface will be hard on the eyes. 

THREE TYPES OF HOUSES 

The interest in modern schoolhouses has produced 
three types. The first may be called the social type. 
The special feature of this house is a platform two or 
three steps above the main floor, with two small rooms, 
one on each side of the platform. When entertainments 
are given the platform is used as a stage and the two 
small rooms as dressing rooms. During the regular work 
of the school, one of these rooms becomes the teacher's 
room, the other, the library or a storeroom for maps, 



The House 



19 




THE NORTON COUNTY HOUSE 



charts, etc. The second type is called the manual type. 
In this there is a workroom separated from the main 
room by a glass partition. In this room the teacher may 
give lessons in manual training, domestic science, bas- 
ketry, etc., and leave the pupils to finish their work at 
odd times as convenience may dictate. Since the parti- 
tion between the two rooms is of glass, the teacher may 
be in either and still keep an eye on every pupil. The 
third or combined type unites in one house the essential 
features of the two just mentioned. This style extends 
the possibilities of the social features of the one and en- 
larges the use of the workroom of the other. If this room 
is well built, so as to guard against frost, and well lighted, 
plants may be grown, seeds germinated, and other ex- 
periments in agriculture conducted here. 

The first of these types is well represented by a school- 



20 



The Rural School 




HAYS HOUSE 



house that was built a few years ago in Norton County, 
Kansas. The social feature of the Emporia plan given 
on page 23 was borrowed from this house. This plan of 
house emphasizes the idea of the school as a social center 
of the community. 

The second type is illustrated by a schoolhouse built 
on the campus of Cornell University intended as a model 
for rural school buildings in New York State. Another 
of the same type is on the campus of the Branch Normal 
School at Hays, Kansas. The distinctive feature of this 
type is the room for manual work. The workroom is 
separated from the main room by a glass partition, so that 
pupils working in this room are in full view of the teacher. 
It is fitted up with benches and tables for woodwork, 
sewing, basketry, etc. See floor plan on opposite page. 

The third type combining the features of the Norton 
County house and the ^ Cornell structure is represented 
by a floor plan worked out by pupils and teachers at 
the Kansas State Normal School at Emporia. 



The House 



21 






PO/?CH 



TO/ier 



LAVATOfi\^ 

BOYS' COAT f^OOM 



to 

TO/l£T 



jLAl/ATO/fY 

C//?IS COAT /?00/i 



SC//001 ROOM 



TiANL/AL 

TRA/N/A/O I 





TABLE 




PLAN OF HAYS HOUSE 



Emporia Plan. — This plan lends itself especially 
to the work of a one-teacher school, where more or less 
handwork is to be undertaken. Attention is called to 
the two cloakrooms so arranged that pupils must come 
into the schoolroom before entering them. This gives 
the teacher better control of the rooms, and will prcA^ent 
inappropriate mingling of boys and girls, and will bring 
them more completely under the watch and care of the 
teacher. The entry is purposely small, serving princi- 
pally as a storm door and as a place for overshoes and 
rubbers. The inner door should swing both ways. The 
platform serves the purpose of a stage; and by having 



22 



The Rural School 



IT-- 


1^" 'j • ,• 


&*. .di^ '***^ 




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^WBBiPBBB^h 



EMPORIA HOUSE 



doors leading from the boys' cloakroom and the hbrary 
and a curtain stretched in front, it will fulfil its purpose 
very well. The library should be furnished with some 
shelves for books and serve as a place for maps, charts, 
globe, etc., and as a teachers' room. The workroom is 
separated from the main room by folding doors, which 
have the upper panels of glass. A pupil may thus work 
at his task and still be under the eyes of the teacher. 
Teachers will appreciate the fuel room on the same floor 
with the heater and near to it, so that all dirt and ashes 
may be swept back into the fuel room. 

While this plan is compact and lends itself admirably 
to the oversight of one teacher, it also presents attrac- 
tions as a social center. With the conveniences furnished 
by this house, dramatization, which is occupying such 
a prominent place in the curriculum of the city schools, 
can be introduced into the country school. Think of it 
as a place for a home talent play or for a Sunday school 
or a meeting place for the Grange or Farmers' Union. 



The House 



23 





^il u II II 




^^ 


~~~" 


/ / /rpapy\ 




1 LJ 


1 f 1 


1 




W=J 




" -r 


1 1 1 


1 


PLArfom 












1 


1 






ra 




















1 1 




=\ 












\\ 




1 


1 1 




r /0\. 


^/P 


1 III 


1 1 


C//PL5' 
CLOA/< 
/?OOM 




n 
FUEL 
JfOOM 


WO/?K f?OOM 


■^>»^ r~ 






PORC/i 










._, 


J 




ji 



PLAN OF EMPORIA HOUSE 



An anteroom could be provided for by enlarging the 
entry and cutting a door from it into the girls' cloakroom. 
The schoolhouse described above should be built in 
almost any part of the United States for not over $1800, 
but, if a district so desired and could afford to expend 
$2500 or $3000, a basement could be put under the whole, 
in which could be placed a furnace, fuel room, pump, 
pressure tank, gasoline engine, dynamo and a play room 
for rainy days. Then, if the cloakrooms were enlarged a 
little, modern sanitary toilet rooms could be introduced, 
giving the country school the advantages of a modern 
house the same as the city school. If farmers could 
realize what these improvements would mean to their 
girls and boys in pureness of thought and cleanliness 
of character, many a rural schoolhouse would have them. 



24 



The Rural School 



BASEMENT 



COLD AIR DUCT - 
WATER TANK 
400,CAL 




DRYING ROOM 



SWITCH BOARD ^-^ 
GASOLINE. ENGINE 

MAIN PUMP 



fl 



O CAS MIXER DYNAMt 

QWATCR COOLER 




GYMNASIUM l2}iXZ3 



BASEMENT PLAN east side 



THE KIRKSVILLE HOUSE 



Kirksville Plan. — The most complete and entirely 
modern schoolhouse in America, perhaps in the world, 
is the one on the campus of the First District Normal 
School at Kirksville, Missouri. President Kirk of this 
school was early interested in better rural schoolhouses, 
and built a small model on which he received a premium 
at the World's Fair at St. Louis. A building after this 
pattern was erected on the Normal campus. There are 
toilet rooms in this house fitted with lavatory, shower 
bath and water-closet. The house is piped for water 
and the pressure is furnished by means of a pump and 
pressure tank in the basement. It is heated with a fur- 
nace situated in the basement, through the jacket of 



The House 



25 




FIRST FLOOR PLAN ^'^^ side 

THE KIRKSVILLE HOUSE 



which air is forced by means of a fan. A double flue 
extending from the basement floor receives the smoke 
from the furnace on one side and the impure air from the 
schoolroom on the other. In order to insure a sufficient 
draft to ventilate the room, a fireplace has been built in 
the ventilating shaft. The burning of a few papers in 
this will give the air an upward movement, and the heat 
from the other shaft will continue the flow. 

This house has electric lights, hot and cold water, gas, 
fan ventilation, a playroom in the basement, domestic 
science and manual training equipment, a drinking 
fountain, a stereopticon, and a bed for use in case a child 
is sick. All this and more was secured at a cost of less 
than $3000. Study the plans shown. 



26 



The Rural School 



li. 



48"" ::X20- 
SKY i; LIGHT 



CASOLINC 
^CAS STOVt 



DRINKING* 
FOUNTAIN 



■^WASH BOWL 







•F"-. 


MTRBEMCN 




M.TRBENCH 



j48 X20" 
SKY LIGHT 



ATTIC PLAN EAST side 

THE KIRKSVILLE HOUSE 



Notice that all of these houses have porches, that the 
hght comes principally from one side, and that there is 
some attempt at architectural beauty. Without excep- 
tion, in the planning of these modern houses the Box 
Car type has been discarded. 

EQUIPMENT 

There are certain accessories to a building which are 
needed to make it complete. First, there should be two 
cloakrooms, one for the boys and one for the girls, and, 
where possible, each should open into a toilet room 
equipped with lavatories and water-closet. There will 
probably be less disturbance in these cloakrooms if they 
open into the main room rather than into a general hall. 



The House 27 

Th« room should be seated with single seats, the small 
ones in a row on the side near the light, then the next 
larger, grading up to the largest in a row on the opposite 
side of the room. This plan of seating will not bring 
together a low desk and a high seat, a combination which 
is very uncomfortable and very unhygienic. There should 
be a bookcase that can be locked, a closet for apparatus 
such as maps, charts, globe, etc., and a cupboard for 
material for the seat work. A good clock within the 
building and a clear sounding bell on the outside in a 
neat tower are more than conveniences. 

With the advantages offered by one of these houses, 
Mark Hopkins would have had a better opportunity to 
teach Garfield than if they were compelled to sit on 
opposite ends of a pine log. 

REFERENCES 

Barry, Hygiene of Schoolroom {chapter 2). Silver, Bur- 
dett & Co. $1.50. 

Fairchild, School Buildings, School Grounds, and Their 
Improvement. May be obtained from the State Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, Topeka, Kansas. 

Foght, American Rural School (chapters 7 and 8). The 
Macmillan Co., $1.25. 

The One-Room Country Schools in Illinois. May be 
obtained from the State Superintendent of PubHc In- 
struction, Springfield, 111. 

McKeever, Farm Boys and Girls (chapter 8), 1912. 
The Macmillan Co., $1.25. 

National Education Association, Proceedings, 1907. 
(415-420). 

Wilson, Church in the Open Country (Better Houses, p. 
107). 1911. Missionary Education Movement of U. S., 
New York, 50c. 



Chapter IV 

SCHOOL HYGIENE AND SANITATION 
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST GERMS 

Germ Theory. — The germ theory of disease has passed 
the theory stage and has entered the realm of fact. It 
is now known that many, and almost certain that most, 
diseases are caused by microorganisms or germs. These 
disease germs enter the body, take up their abode there, 
and cause the host to become sick. 

Consumption. — It is well known that consumption 
is caused by a microscopic organism called tubercle bacillus, 
which is breathed into the lungs. If the condition of the 
lung is favorable to the growth of these germs, they take 
up their abode there and begin to multiply. The process 
of destroying the lung begins, and consumption develops. 

This disease is not inherited, as was thought some 
years ago, though some tendencies are, but comes from 
bacilli that are breathed into the lungs. All sputum of 
a consumptive contains these germs and they are thrown 
off with this discharge, myriads in number with each 
expectoration. They are probably not in the exhaled 
breath. If this sputum is allowed to dry and become dust, 
the germs then float in the air or cling to particles of dust 
ready to be inhaled by some other person. Like corn and 
wheat, these germs are not killed at once by becoming 
dry. When they fall on fertile soil they multiply. 

28 



School Hygiene and Sanitation 29 

Typhoid Fever. — The germs of typhoid fever are of 
a different kind. They attack the bowels of the human 
being and give off a poison that is carried all over the 
body in the blood. They pass off with the excreta and 
are very tenacious of life. They are disseminated 
through the food and drink. Flies carry them on their 
feet from barnyards and outhouses and leave them on 
the food of the table. Flyspecks likewise contain the 
typhoid germs. The nurse, if she be cook also, may 
contaminate the food of the household and thus spread 
the cUsease through the whole family. Ordinary clean- 
liness is not a safeguard in case of this cUsease. 

Diseases of the Eye. — Sore eyes may be communicated 
by means of the common towel. Also, children afflicted 
with sore eyes are inclined to rub their eyes with their 
hands. In this way germs may be left upon desks, books, 
slates, doorknobs, stair bannisters, etc. The teacher 
must exercise constant care and watchfulness and in- 
struct the parents through the children in sanitary pre- 
cautions. 

Preventing the Spread of Contagious Diseases. — It is 
safe to exclude from school all children afflicted with any 
contagious disease. This suspension should extend to 
all members of the family. While it may seem a hard- 
ship to keep wefl children out of school, nevertheless, the 
whole community must be protected even at the expense 
of one family. The germs of these diseases may be carried 
in some way by well persons. The health ofiicer should 
be notified, and an order from him or some competent 
physician should be received before admitting them 
again to school. 

Precaution Against Disease. — Our knowledge of germs 
admonishes us to scrupulous cleanliness. No teacher 
afflicted with tuberculosis should be shut up with pupils. 



30 The Rural School 

in a schoolroom. In homes of persons afflicted with 
consumption all sputum should be burned. No persons 
should spit upon the floor of public buildings or upon the 
sidewalks. There are other germs that are contained in 
the sputum besides those causing consumption. Many 
diseases are disseminated by the common drinking cup, 
by sputum on the sidewalks and floors, by the exchange 
of pencils that have been wet in the mouth, by second- 
hand books, by doorknobs, etc. 

Removal of Dust. — Remember that disease germs 
harbor in or are a part of the dust of all places inhabi- 
ted by human beings. The watchword of the housewife 
and all school officials should be, " Fight the dust." It 
is not enough to raise a dust with a broom and feather 
duster, but it should be removed from the room. The 
feather duster has been tabooed; it simply scatters dust 
to fall later in some other place. The housewife's " dust- 
ing rag," moistened with coal oil, is better than any 
duster. After sweeping, all seats, tables, desks and 
every place where dust can settle should be gone over 
with the dust rag and the dust gathered into it. The 
rag should be burned, or thoroughly cleansed with boil- 
ing water. 

Precautions in regard to Slates and Pencils. — The use 
of slates has almost become a thing of the past. If they 
are used, a bottle of water should be kept near at hand, 
and pupils should be required to use it for moistening 
sponge or rag. They should not be allowed to wet the 
slate or rag with saliva, for then both become harbors 
for numerous disease germs. The New York Board of 
Education in one of its rules requires that the pen and 
pencil furnished to each pupil shall be used by that child 
alone, until such time as it seems best to give it to another, 
when it must be thoroughly fumigated and cleansed. A 



School Hygiene and Sanitation 31 




SANITARY DRINKING FOUNTAIN 
(McCalve) 

very unsanitary habit is that of putting the pencil into 
the mouth. If the pencils are dipped into quinine or aloe 
water, children can be broken of this habit. 

Drinking Water. — Typhoid germs may pass down with 
the water into the ground and get into a well or cistern. 
In determining the position of the well, great care should 
be taken that it shall not receive the drainage of outhouses 



32 The Rural School 

or stables. The well should be thoroughly cleaned at 
the beginning of each school year. At least, it should be 
pumped out two or three times before any of the water is 
used after the summer vacation. The fact that water is 
clear and sparkling does not indicate that it is free from 
disease germs, for they are invisible to the naked eye. 

If the water must be brought from a farm house, there 
should be a covered receptacle in which to keep it. It 
should not be left to stand in an open bucket in the room. 
Since there are many disease germs in the air, mingling 
with the dust of the room, and since they are carried on 
the children's clothing, if the water is left uncovered, they 
will be taken into it. The tubercle bacillus and many other 
disease germs are often found in the mouth and may be 
left on the drinking cup. In order that these disease 
germs may not be disseminated in this way, each pupil 
should be required to own and use his own drinking cup. 

Flies. — The common house fly breeds in barnyard 
manure and other excreta. If manure were kept in closed 
receptacles or spread upon the fields, flies would have 
no breeding places and would in time become extinct. 
Through draining the swamps and pools of stagnant 
water and thus getting rid of the mosquito, the carrier 
of malarial germs, this disease has almost become a thing 
of the past. In a similar manner, by destroying the 
breeding places of flies, we shall get rid of them also 
and free ourselves of much annoyance and sickness. 

Sanitary Closets. Too much importance cannot be 
placed upon the installation of sanitary closets. In those 
parts of the country where typhoid fever is prevalent, 
much of the well water is contaminated by seepage from 
some ill-kept water-closet. Even springs have been known 
to be tainted by an outhouse situated above on the side 
of the hill. In the Southern states where the hookworm 



School Hygiene and Sanitation 



33 



thrives and does its 
mischievous work, 
the ground becomes 
saturated with filth 
and hookworms. 
These worms enter 
the blood of the in- 
dividual through the 
soles of the feet, and 
lodge in the intes- 
tines, w^here they do 
their harm. Sickness ^ i>isgRace to any community 

and loss of life caused by lack of reasonable sanitation are 
sufficient reasons for the installation of sanitary closets. 



1^ 





CORRECTING PHYSICAL DEFECTS 



Adenoids and En- 
larged Tonsils. — 
Many children are 
afflicted with en- 
larged tonsils and 
adenoids, a growth 
in the upper part 
of the nasal pas- 
sages. These enlarge- 
ments obstruct the 
free passage of the air 
through the nose and 
in other ways affect 
the health of the 
individual. Persons afflicted in this way usually breathe 
through the mouth. If allowed to remain, these Httle 
enlargements become serious and greatly hinder the 




THE KIND OF SANITARY CLOSET ANY 
SCHOOL CAN HAVE 



34 The Rural School 

child in his development. Children who are troubled 
with adenoids or enlarged tonsils should be taken to 
a competent physician, and the abnormal growth should 
be removed. By watching for the mouth-breathers and 
that peculiar hollow sound which accompanies adenoids, 
the teacher can detect the pupils who need attention. 

Defective Eyes. — There are few schools in which there 
are not pupils with defective eyesight. Many cannot see 
as well as others, but they do not know it. They have 
never noticed that they have to hold their book nearer 
to their eyes than other pupils do. This the teacher 
should notice and see that those with defective eyesight 
have seats where they can easily see all the work on the 
board. If the case requires, the parents should be noti- 
fied and advised to consult an oculist. Some persons are 
afflicted with headaches which are caused by their eyes. 
The lenses of the eye are not perfect, and in adjusting 
the focus for reading and study the muscles are strained 
and become tired thus causing severe headaches. This 
can often be entirely relieved by using glasses that are 
rightly adjusted. In aggravated cases the services of a 
specialist should be secured. 

Testing Eyesight and Hearing. — It is a good plan for 
teachers to test the eyesight and hearing of all pupils 
at the beginning of the term. The test cards can be 
obtained from almost any optician or oculist. A watch 
may be used to test the hearing. Simply testing to see 
who can hear the farthest will locate the ones that will 
need the teacher's attention. 

LIGHTING AND SEATING 

Light. — The light of a schoolroom should come from 
one side of the room, at most from two sides, and then 
from the left side and back of the room. If the light comes 



School Hygiene and Sanitation 35 

from two opposite sides it causes cross shadows, and these 
are hard on the eyes. If the light comes from the right 
side, it causes the shadow of the right hand to fall in the 
light of the writer. 

The teacher in the rural school cannot rebuild the house, 
but she can manipulate the shades so that the light will be 
the best possible under the conditions. It is better that 
the light should come in near the ceiling, so that it may 
be scattered and reflected by it all over the room. It 
would be ideal to have light come in from above as out 
of doors. This cannot always be done, but shades can be 
so arranged as to admit the light at the top of the window. 
This can be accomplished either by placing two shades 
near the middle of the window, one rolling up and the 
other down, or a shade adjuster may be had which allows 
the shade and fixture to be moved up and doT\Ti at will, 
thus locating the curtain at any point desired. Shades 
are not merely for ornament, but should serve their 
purpose of regulating the light. School boards do not 
always think of them as necessities, but teachers should 
be able to show their importance and insist that they be 
furnished. 

The blackboards should be of a black or dark green 
color, and the writing should be large and distinct, so 
that it will not cause pupils to strain their eyes to read it. 

Seating. — In seating pupils care should be exercised 
to find seats suited to the several sizes in the school. 
There are two faults quite prevalent; the first, where the 
seat is too high for the child, and the second, where seat 
and desk are too far apart. The little fellows in too many 
schools have to sit and swing their feet off into space. 
This is tiresome and injurious to the flexible bones of the 
growing child. The feet should rest easily on the floor. 
When a pupil can sit back in his seat with a right angle 



36 



The Rural School 




AN ADJUSTABLE DESK 
And one that may be moved to any part of the room 



formed at his knee and his feet flat on the floor, his seat 
is of the right height. 

The desk top should be near enough the pupil so that 
he will not have to lean far forward in order to write. 
It is preferable to have seat and desk too near together 
rather than to have them too far apart. If too near to- 
gether, there wiU be trouble in getting in and out; but if 
too far apart, the pupils will have to assume an improper 
position in writing and study. With a good adjustable 



School Hygiene and Sanitation 37 

desk all these ills can be remedied and each pupil be 
given a seat and desk suited to his size. Until then 
teachers should make the best use possible of the material 
at hand. 

VENTILATION 

Need of a Revival for Pure Air. — It is a sad fact, never- 
theless true, that our teachers know a great deal more 
about ventilation than they put into practice. When a 
teacher talks about modern methods of heating and 
ventilation, while her room is reeking mth foul air and 
not a window is open, you wonder what good her in- 
formation is doing her or her pupils. What we need is a 
revival for pure air. We need to realize that fresh air is 
nature's free food and that we ought to have plenty of it. 

Here are some facts upon which the theory and need of 
ventilation are based: 

1. Warm air rises and cold air settles. 

2. In breathing we consume oxygen and exhale added 
amounts of carbon dioxide. 

3. Oxygen is necessary for life, but exhaled air con- 
tains less and less of oxygen and more and more of 
matter poisonous to the human system. 

4. In order to keep air pure as it should be for breath- 
ing it is necessary to introduce about thirty cubic feet of 
fresh air each minute for each individual and to extract 
an equal amount. 

5. Very moist air is oppressive and excessively dry air 
is irritating to the throat and lungs. 

6. Ordinarily, when the temperature is raised nineteen 
degrees, the moisture is decreased one half. 

7. Many of the impurities of air are heavier than air 
and gradually settle to the floor. 

Our knowledge of disease germs and the conclusions 



38 The Rural School 

from the above principles should convince us of the 
necessity of schoolroom ventilation. 

Efifects of Impure Air. — It has been estimated by the 
State Board of Health of New York that forty per cent 
of all deaths are caused directly or indirectly by impure 
air. A great waste is caused in our rural schools from the 
effects of impure air. Pupils become dull and stupid, or 
restless and irritable, all because the air of the room is foul. 
When pupils are sleepy or things begin to drag, or some 
complain of headaches, it is time to think about ventila- 
tion. Throw open the windows and have the pupils march 
until the impure air has been replaced by fresh air. 

Warm air is not necessarily impure, nor on the other 
hand is cold air always pure. If there has been no inter- 
change during the interval, the air left overnight in a 
schoolroom will be just as impure in the morning, though 
cold, as it was the night before. The janitor should be 
instructed to open the doors and windows while sweeping, 
that there may be a complete change of air. 

Schoolroom Experiences. — Methinks I hear the voice 
of some lone teacher in a forlorn old schoolhouse say, " I 
cannot warm my schoolhouse with all doors and windows 
closed as tight as I can get them. There are cracks in the 
door and it does not touch the threshold by an inch. 
The windows also do not fit, and the wind and cold pour 
in. How am I to ventilate? '^ In reply: Your problem 
is one of heating and not of ventilation. The " friendly 
cracks " will furnish all of the fresh air you need, especially 
on a windy day; on a still day you will need to follow 
directions given to others. 

Another says, " My schoolroom is tight enough, but 
there is no way provided to ventilate it." This is the 
condition of most schoolhouses, but it is not a valid reason 
for teachers giving no attention to the subject. 



School Hygiene and Sanitation 39 

If the door is located so that it does not cause a draft 
on any one, it can be left a Httle ajar. Through this 
crack a current of air will enter at the lower part and an- 
other will go out from the upper part. A small wooden 
wedge will hold the door in place. 

Ventilation by Use of Windows. — The most common 
method of ventilating under above conditions is by means 
of an open window or two. The problem is to provide 
an inlet and an outlet of air, and cause no draft on pupils 
or teacher. Sometimes this can be done by opening a 
window from the top on the leeward side, and one or 
more at the bottom on the other side. Another way is by 
use of boards. In the first place, when only a little air 
is needed, fit a board about six inches wide under the 
lower sash. This allows a flow of air between the upper 
and lower sashes. Where more air is wanted, fit a board 
about ten or twelve inches wide on the inside of the casing, 
then raise the lower sash about eight or ten inches. This 
will allow a flow of air into the room under the window 
but the board will give it an upward turn. By the use 
of boards in this way you can prevent a draft on the 
pupils. Whatever method is used, cold air must not be 
allowed to strike the pupils or fall upon their heads. 

Any of these ways are imperfect, for in cold weather 
fresh air should be warmed before it enters the school- 
room. Then again, it is impossible by these methods to 
get fresh air into all parts of the room. 

School boards generally place the stove in the middle 
of the room, so that it will radiate heat into all parts of 
the house. As many a boy or girl knows, this furnishes 
a good hiding place from the eyes of the teacher and makes 
seats back of the stove at a premium; also, those near 
the stove roast, while those sitting in the far corners of the 
room freeze. 



40 



The Rural School 




ONE TYPE OF SANITARY FURNACE 
(The Smith System) 



A Modem System of Ventilation. — There are now 
on the market two rational methods of heating and ven- 
tilating a one-room building by the use of a stove. 



School Hygiene and Sanitation 41 




ANOTHER MODERN SYSTEM 
(Waterman-Waterbury) 



Both these systems use a stove enclosed in a jacket. 
Fresh air is admitted into this jacket from outside, is 
heated, rises and spreads over the ceiling. A large foul 
air pipe placed near the stove comes to within three or 



42 



The Rural School 




A TYPICAL, STOVE-HEATED, UNVENTILATED SCHOOLROOM 
Note the waste of floor space 



four inches of the floor, extends upward and passes out 
through the ceiling and roof. The stove pipe passes 
within this foul air duct up to a point on a level with the 
opening in the flue, thus heating the air in the foul air 
pipe. In the other case the chimney, beginning at the 
floor, is used as the conduit for the foul air. 

The air in the flue is heated by the smoke and gases 



School Hygiene and Sanitation 43 




A SCHOOLROOM HEATED AND VENTILATED BY ONE OF THE MODERN 

SYSTEMS 
Note the conservation of floor space 



from the stove, and causes a suction of air through the 
registers. This takes air from the floor, and the heated 
air next to the ceiHng gradually cools and settles. 

In this way the whole room is evenly heated, while 
fresh air is coming in all the time and foul air is going out. 
Those sitting near the stove are no warmer than those in 
the far corner. This stove may be set in the corner of the 
room out of the way. 

There is a water pan within the jacket. The evapora- 
tion of this water moistens the air of the room. In most 
schoolrooms the atmosphere is too dry. An open vessel 
of water placed on the stove will replenish the moisture 
of the room. 

Under all circumstances it takes more fuel to heat a 
room when there is cold air coming into it than when 
everything is closed up tight. Yet it is almost impossible 
to heat a room uniformly without a circulation of air, and 



44 The Rural School 

entirely impossible to ventilate without it. While it may 
cost a trifle more for fuel (the companies claim not, saying 
that because of the circulation of air, which gives a 
uniform heat in the room, it does not take as much coal 
as where some of the house must be overheated to warm 
the corners of the room), yet every schoolhouse should be 
heated by some such system. The whole cost of install- 
ing one of these plants is about one hundred twenty 
dollars. 

REFERENCES 

Allen, Civics and Health {especially Part III). 1909. 
Ginn & Co., $1.50. 

Barry, Hygiene of Schoolroom. 1904. Silver, Burdett 
& Co., $1.50. 

Conn, Elementary Physiology and Hygiene (chapters 5, 
14, 15 and 16). 1913. Silver, Burdett & Co., 60c. 

Foght, American Rural School {pp. 125-128 and Ap- 
pendix B). 1910. The Macmillan Co., $1.25. 

Newsholme, School Hygiene. D. C. Heath & Co., 75c. 

Ogden,' Rural Hygiene. 1911. The Macmillan Co., 
$1.50. 

Prudden, Story of Bacteria and their Relation to Health 
and Disease. Second ed., rev. 1910. G. P. Putnam's 
Sons, 75c. 

Ritchie, Primer of Hygiene. 1910. World Book Co., 
Yonkers-on-Hudson, N. Y., 40c. A very practical little 
book. ■ 

Ritchie, Primer of Sanitation. 1910. World Book Co., 
50c. Equally practical. 

Shaw, School Hygiene. 1901. The Macmillan Co., 
$1.00. 



Chapter V 

THE TEACHER — HIS QUALIFICATIONS 

PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT 

No Physical Disability. — The person that stands from 
day to day before the boys and girls of a school should be 
physically whole. However much we sympathize with 
them and desire to assist them, persons who are maimed 
or deformed are not the persons for school teachers. 
Children are so inclined to imitate that they often assume 
the walk, posture or special peculiarity of the person who 
stands before them as teacher. Then too, the impressions 
of childhood are so lasting that we should try to place 
before them perfect models. The school boards that de- 
sire to see the teacher before making a contract are not 
to be blamed. Other things being equal, those boards 
that choose the best looking teacher, should not be criti- 
cised too severely. '' A sound mind in a sound body " 
is not more to be desired in any other walk of life than 
in that of a teacher. 

Importance of Good Health. — The young man or 
woman who starts out in life to be a teacher needs a good 
constitution. While there is an impression among a good 
many rural people that school teaching is not hard work, 
yet many break down and have to leave on account 
of their ill health. To walk a mile and one half or two 
miles; to eat a cold dinner; to act as teacher and janitor 

43 



46 The Rural School 

and build fires on winter mornings when the wind blows 
and the snow flies; to remain housed up in a close room 
five days in the week with thirty or more pupils breathing 
impure air — to withstand these drains upon the vital 
forces requires a good constitution. One may say that 
these do not always come to the teacher. Though they 
may not come all at once, yet most teachers who have 
taught long in rural districts have encountered these 
strains upon their health, and some even worse than these. 

The Need of Strong Nerves. — The work of the school- 
room is a constant drain upon the nervous system. In 
regard to the control of a schoolroom the words of Holy 
Writ are true, " Not by might, nor by power, but by my 
spirit." Control is accomplished more by spiritual than 
by physical forces. The old-time teacher tried to govern 
by physical force, but the government never was good. 
Fear was predominant in this scheme and the child was 
not led to self-control. No better use can be made of 
the influence of mind over mind than in school govern- 
ment, but this consumes nerve force, and the teacher 
who is to succeed must start with a generous supply. 

Good Disposition. — In order to succeed, the teacher 
should be kindly disposed toward children. The noise 
and worry of the school work upon one's nerves and are 
inclined to make a person irritable. If a person is in 
sympathy with the children and can enter into their joys 
and sports, he need not grow old and cross, but may live 
young in life and spirit. 

The grace that the teacher needs in good measure 
should not be the kind that is content with anything that 
happens, but the kind that suffers long and is willing 
still to suffer that things may come to pass just right. 
Children are not as thoughtful as grown people would 
have them, and many things occur in the schoolroom that 



The Teacher — His QuaHficatlons 47 

" cannot be ctired but must be endured/' The children 
are not the only ones who draw upon the teacher's patience. 
Often patrons and even school boards are not in the 
closest touch and sympathy with the work of the teacher. 
They do not see things from his viewpoint and some- 
times hinder rather than help the work. All this calls for 
patience. Happy is the teacher who has " learned to 
labor and to wait." 

MENTAL EQUIPMENT 

Thorough Knowledge of Common Branches. — The 

teacher may be deficient in many things that are de- 
sirable and yet be quite successful; but the district 
school teacher, who undertakes to teach without a good 
knowledge of the common branches, is sure to prove more 
or less of a failure. He undertakes to teach these very 
subjects, and how can he teach that which he himself does 
not know? Then, first of all educational preparations 
for teaching a rural school, is a thorough knowledge of 
those branches that have become fundamental in our 
educational system. Some young men undertake to teach 
before they can write a legible hand or express their 
thoughts in passable English. Some young women under- 
take to teach before they have mastered the principles of 
arithmetic, or have comprehended the simple logic of 
events in the history of the United States. These people 
fail, but it may not be checked up against them. They 
may receive their pay as teachers when by right they 
should pay tuition for the privilege of practicing on inno- 
cent children. In these cases the would-be teachers 
learn more than their pupils. 

Knowledge of Advanced Studies. — No one can teach 
all that he knows. He must have some store in reserve. 



48 The Rural School 

The logic of much of United States history dates back 
into English history. Many of the principles of arithme- 
tic can be explained only through a knowledge of algebra 
or geometry. Many things that come up in grammar and 
composition require a knowledge of rhetoric to make them 
plain. Hence the teacher of common branches needs at 
least some knowledge of advanced studies. The high 
schools are demanding college trained teachers, and the 
day is not far distant when the district schools will de- 
mand teachers with at least a high school education. 

Professional Training. - Not only should a teacher 
know the subjects to be taught, but he should also give 
some thought and study to learning how to teach these 
subjects. There is an impression among those outside 
the craft that any one who knows a subject knows how to 
teach it. The architect knows a house, knows how it 
should be built, but he lacks skill in using the tools to 
build the house. He still needs to know how to use the 
plane and saw that he may fit rafter to rafter, and make 
joints that will pass the inspection of the master builder. 

In the same manner, it is true in the profession of teach- 
ing that the teacher needs to know the ^^ how '' as well as 
the '' what.'' A good many teachers have acquired this 
skill by years of practice and experience in the school- 
room, but this is an expensive process and its evil results 
fall upon the pupils of such schools. It is unfair that a 
teacher should learn his trade by practicing upon those 
whom he is paid to teach. We do not think of hiring an 
unskilled man to build a house, for it would be too ex- 
pensive. Nor would we hire the architect to do the car- 
penter work. Each has his work, and in business we rec- 
ognize this and give to each man his place. We should 
recognize this in teaching, also, and require some train- 
ing in the theory and art of teaching. The city schools 



The Teacher — His QuaHficatlons 49 

generally are requiring this training either in a normal 
school or through experience in the schoolroom. It is 
time for the rural schools to raise their standard, also. 

Practice Teaching. — Along with the theory of teach- 
ing, should go practice teaching under skilled supervisors. 
Possibly observation of model recitations, conducted by 
a trained teacher, should precede any teaching by the 
pupil. Such work followed by a recitation on the lesson 
presented, calling attention to how the teacher had il- 
lustrated in actual work the theory that had previously 
been studied, will save the young teacher from committing 
many blunders and save the pupils from the evil effect of 
practice teaching. 

Training for Rural Schools. — What is given above is 
more or less general, and is needful whether the person 
is to teach in the city or in the country. But there is a 
certain training which is desirable for teachers of rural 
schools to fit them for the special needs of the country. 

While the normal schools offer an extended course in 
professional, isubjects, the rural schools may be willing 
at the present to content themselves with less than a com- 
plete course in psychology, philosophy of education, 
history of education, school law, school management and 
methods of teaching. Yet a knowledge of some of these 
subjects seems almost necessary to any degree of success. 
Before going into the schoolroom a person should have 
some idea of how to conduct a recitation; how to make 
out a program arid follow it; how to govern a room full 
of children with as little friction as possible; how to 
start a class in reading, in numbers, etc. All of this pre- 
supposes some knowledge of the psychology of child 
life. The elements of these subjects may be comprehended 
by young people who have attained the age when their 
judgment is supposed to be mature enough to allow them 



50 The Rural School 

to teach school, and states are raising the requirements 
along these hnes from year to year. It will probably be a 
long time before we have reached the requirement of the 
German schools, where every teacher must have normal 
school training. 

The following is the course which is offered in the 
secondary department of the Kansas State Normal School 
to students who expect to go into the rural schools to 
teach. It is very similar to the course now given in over 
one hundred high schools in the state of Kansas. This 
course, completed, carries with it a one-year state cer- 
tificate entitling the holder to teach one year in elemen- 
tary schools. 

Course of Study, Kansas Normal High School 



English 3 units 

Algebra 1 " 

Geometry 1 " 

Arithmetic Yi " 

History 1 " 

Civics Yi " 

Physiology M " 

Agriculture 2 " 

Physics 1 " 

Geography 1 " 

Psychology H " 

Rural School Management 3^ " 

Manual Training i 

Domestic Science > 2 " 

Drawing and Hand Work ) 

Music V> " 



Explanation: A unit means a year's work, five recitations per 
week. 

It might be well to say in regard to some of these sub- 
jects that they have special applications to practical life. 
For example, the course in physiology pertains to rural 
health problems, the hygiene of kitchen and barn, be- 



The Teacher — His Qualifications 51 

sides the general laws of health. The course in physics 
deals with practical problems of the farm and home. Agri- 
culture includes nature study, agronomy, farm manage- 
ment, etc. Rural school management is the study of 
school management applied especially to rural schools. 
Manual training and domestic science are both special 
courses designed for country teachers, and treat of farm 
and farm home subjects. The boys in manual training 
design and make models for farm gates, moulds for 
cement posts, plans for barns, etc. The girls study farm 
cooking, serving of country dinners, economy of the 
woman's work on the farm, etc. The drawing is elemen- 
tary, such as will prepare for teaching in a mixed school; 
the hand work consists of seat work, paper cutting, mat 
weaving, basketry and raffia work. 

The course in the normal college includes advanced 
work along these lines, taking up rural problems and 
county supervision, and a course in chemistry applied to 
the kitchen and the farm. Teachers completing such 
courses as these will be well prepared for rural school 
work. 

Knowledge of Rural Life. — The teacher who is going 
into a rural district should know more than the city girl 
who went into ecstasies over her uncle's '' hand-painted 
barn." It is a good thing for the women teachers to know 
how to make bread, and something of the chemistry of 
the process; how to make a dress and fit it; how to milk 
a cow and make the butter, in short, how to do the house- 
work of a country home. They will thus be more in 
sympathy with rural people and rural conditions. It 
would not be a hindrance if the men teachers knew how 
to farm, raise corn and hogs, cattle and horses. If he had 
walked between the handles of a plow, the fact would not 
make him worth less to the boys of the school. By the 



52 The Rural School 

way, it would be a good thing if every boy could come in 
contact with a good man teacher somewhere in his school 
hfe. It is to be deplored that the men are deserting the 
district schools. Kansas had about 47% of male teachers 
in 1870, but in 1908 -1909 only about 19% of the teachers 
were men. Another trouble with the rural schools is 
that we have been trying to pattern after the city schools. 
What we need are schools suited to the rural conditions, 
taught by teachers who know and are in sympathy with 
rural conditions. 

ATTENTION TO BUSINESS DETAILS 

Knowledge of Business. — One of the first things a 
prospective teacher is called upon to do is to sign a con- 
tract. Many young people just beginning teaching have 
little conception of its importance and character. It is 
the first they have ever signed or with which they have 
had anything to do. What it means they have not thought 
nor do they know what is in it, except that it gives them 
a school. If every contract were carefully read before 
it was signed, there would be less misunderstanding 
and trouble afterwards. The teachers' contract contains 
twenty or more specifications, and the law provides a 
severe penalty for its violation. 

But a contract is only one of many things of a business 
nature a teacher should know. The business man has 
complained that the boys and girls from our schools do 
not know much about practical business. They learn 
what there is in the books, but if they are given some 
simple problem outside they are puzzled. It is not much 
wonder that this is true when we realize how little the 
teachers know about actual business. Even the men in 
the teaching profession are seldom recognized in business 



The Teacher — His Qualifications 53 

circles. Every teacher should be sufficiently conversant 
with the common business transactions of the community 
to understand them and to apply the principles of the 
book to them. Also a teacher should be able to give 
problems of a practical nature illustrating and applying 
the business of the neighborhood. 

Making Application. — {I) By Letter. When the J:eacher 
is appljdng for a school away from his home county, it 
often becomes necessary to write a letter of application. 
This should be done with great care. First, he should 
choose, if possible, business paper and envelope to match; 
he should use pen and ink and not a pencil; the paper 
should be folded correctly so that it will fill the envelope 
neatly (the way to fold depends on the kind of paper 
used); the address on the envelope should be in a plain, 
neat hand and end near the lower right-hand corner. The 
mechanics of the letter, punctuation, orthography, para- 
graphing, margining, etc. should be faultless. The parts 
of the letter, the superscription, the body and the sub- 
scription should be so arranged that the letter will present 
a neat appearance. In the body of the letter the very 
best English at the command of the writer should be 
used; not only English that is grammatically correct, 
but such as expresses the thought in a pleasing way. 
The author lent his aid in electing a young lady to a posi- 
tion as teacher of English in a high school over several 
other apphcants because of the pleasing style of her letter. 

Usually the body of the letter should contain three 
paragraphs, the first, the formal application, beginning, 
however, with some introductory remark as to source of 
information of vacancy; the second, the teacher's educa- 
tional qualifications and experience; the third, his refer- 
ences to persons who know of his education, experience 
and moral character. A fourth paragraph may be added, 



54 The Rural School 

if the applicant desires to assure the board of his willing- 
ness to spare no pains and efforts to make the school a 
success, or to express his confidence in his ability to teach 
and govern the school with the hearty cooperation of 
the board. 

(2) In Person. It is always better, if possible, to 
make the application in person. The board wants to see 
the individual whom it is to place in charge of its school; 
and the teacher should desire to see the board for whom 
he is to work. It is as much to the teacher's interest to 
see and become acquainted with the board and the neigh- 
borhood, as it is to the board's advantage to get an oppor- 
tunity to estimate the teacher's worth by his appearance. 
Teachers must know that there are some schools which 
they do not want, that there are some schools in which 
they would make a failure, perhaps; that, when they find 
conditions in a locality uncongenial to them, they should 
move on to the next district. 

When making application in person, the teacher should 
present as good an appearance as possible. This does not 
mean that he should wear expensive or gaudy clothing, 
but that he should be neat and clean. He needs to be able 
to present his case, not boastingly, but in clear and con- 
fident terms. It will not be considered egotism on his 
part if he tell of his educational qualifications, his ex- 
perience as a teacher, and what he is confident he can do 
for the school. This is what the board wants to know, 
and, if he does not tell these things himself, it may not 
find them out in time to decide in his favor. 

If the application is to be made to one individual, as 
the superintendent, it simpfifies the matter, and the 
teacher can usually talk more openly and freely, knowing 
that a superintendent is more in s5Tnpathy with him and 
his ideals. If the employing board consist of several 



The Teacher — His QuaHlicatlons 55 

members, it is usually necessary to see each one; but it is 
well to remember that often one man is the member of 
the board, and as he votes the board decides. To act 
legally the members meet and act as a board and not as 
individuals. 

REFERENCES 

Colgrove, Teacher and the School {chapter 2), 1910. 
Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.25. 

Button, School Management {chapters 1 and 2). 1903. 
Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.00. 

Foght, American Rural School {chapter 5). 1910. The 
Macmillan Co., $1.25. 

Gilbert, The School and its Life {chapters 8, 9, 10). 
Silver, Burdett & Co., $1.25. 

McKeever, Psychologic Method in Teaching {chapter 4). 
A. Flanagan & Co., $1.00. 

Sabin, Common Sense Didactics {Preparation for Teach- 
ing). Rand, McNally & Co., $1.00. 



Chapter VI 
THE TEACHER — HIS PERSONALITY 

One teacher may step into a room, and immediately 
every pupil is quiet and orderly; another may call for 
order, ring the bell and even rebuke and punish, yet dis- 
order is everywhere. To one teacher the pupils are re- 
spectful, and to another they are disrespectful. Upon one 
they will play pranks, set a tack on his chair, turn his 
watch forward, or hide his hat; upon another no one 
would think of playing a trick, but on the other hand, 
every one is anxious and willing to assist him in every 
way possible. 

Personality, What it is. — The above conditions may 
be explained by saying that it is the personality of the 
teacher which makes the difference. Personality, that 
indefinable atmosphere which surrounds a person and 
commands respect and obedience, is almost synonymous 
with individuality or personal influence. We say of one 
person that he has a strong personality, and of another 
that he has a weak personality. One commands respect 
and exerts a strong influence, it may be for good or evil; 
the other commands little respect and his influence is 
confined to a small circle of friends and acquaintances. 

One person by stately form and beautiful appearance 
commands respect at first sight. Boys especially admire 
persons of strong and robust stature. Physical perfection 
is their ideal, and they are willing to offer homage and 

53 



The Teacher — His Personality 57 

submission at its shrine. But some of these persons who 
at first command our respect by their very presence, after 
a while lose our confidence. We learn that they are not 
brave and courageous as we supposed at first, but, al- 
though physically able, are cowards, — perhaps both 
physical and moral cowards. Their inner selves do not 
measure up to their physical selves. Their wishes and 
demands are disregarded and they are not able to compel 
obedience and respect. Observers have expected the 
soul to be as large and as beautiful as the body, but they 
were disappointed. 

On the other hand, the appearance of others is so dis- 
appointing and unprepossessing that at first we are re- 
pelled by them and think that we can never have any 
respect for such persons. However, when we become 
acquainted with them, we find their mental acumen so 
keen and their ability to assist us in our thinking so 
great, that we forget their physical defects and pay our 
homage to them as the ancients did to Psyche, the god of 
mind. 

In a certain village, there lived a woman, with whom the 
writer is well acquainted, who could not command much 
respect by her physical presence, for she had a poor weak 
body; nor was her mental ability great. Yet her soul was 
so large and so good that every one who knew her re- 
spected her, and she was a power for good in that 
community. 

William E. Gladstone, Prime Minister of England, 
combined all of these qualities. During his long and busy 
career as a statesman, his physical manhood was never 
neglected, but he was able, in what might have been ex- 
pected to be his declining years, to chop wood like a 
hardy woodman. But it was his brilliant genius com- 
bined with his unswerving regard for right and justice 



58 The Rural School 

which made him the first man in all England and gained 
for him the title of the " Grand Old Man.'' 

Personality is made up of physical appearance, mental 
acumen and soul greatness. Each of these has its influ- 
ence upon those with whom we come in contact, and each 
should be considered in the study of this subject. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STRONG PERSONALITY 

The question of interest to every person and especially 
to the one who expects to become a teacher is this, " Is 
my personality a fixed quantity or may I expand and 
improve it? " A good many are inclined to think that it 
is unchangeable. But if the question be put thus, " Can 
I maintain and improve my physical, mental and moral 
condition? " the answer is apparent to all. A few sug- 
gestions will be given which may help persons desirous 
of possessing a strong and influential personality. 

The Maintenance of Physical Vigor. — In order that a 
person may exert his best influence, it is necessary that he 
maintain his health at the very best possible level. If 
a teacher is all bent over on account of pain in his chest, 
or if he has a throbbing headache from loss of sleep, he 
cannot exert the influence that he would otherwise, if he 
were buoyant with health and vigor. Thus, it becomes a 
question of how to maintain vigor and energy and at the 
same time do the work of the school. 

First, find a good boarding place. This advice will 
often be hard to follow, and in some places it is almost 
impossible. But the teacher should inquire into this matter 
before the contract is signed. In some districts all want 
to board the teacher, in others no one wants that privilege, 
and in still others, if the teacher boards at a certain place, 
he incurs the enmity of some family of the district. Con- 



The Teacher — His Personality 59 

ditions may be such that he cannot get a suitable board- 
ing place in that district, and in this case he had better 
look elsewhere for a school. When it is advised to get a 
good boarding place, it is not suggested that one be 
overnice about a place. If a person is fastidious, he had 
better not go to the country to teach school. But he 
should get as good a boarding place as he can, a place 
where he likes the cooking, a place where the family is 
congenial, — ■ where he can have time to himself and will 
not be expected to entertain the other members of the 
household, nor be entertained by them all the time that 
he is at home. The teacher should have a room to himself 
if possible, and this is more imperative if the family is 
large. In many places this will be impossible, and he will 
have to become one of the family and put up with the 
accommodations which the neighborhood affords. One 
had better walk two miles and have a good home when 
there, than to board next to the schoolhouse and have 
accommodations that are repugnant to his tastes. 

The teacher needs plenty of mind and nerve rest — 
sleep. A good boarding place will not be the place where 
they have supper at nine and begin the preparation for 
breakfast at four or five in the morning. Then too, 
there are the parties and dances that may tempt the 
teacher to spend strength and nervous force that should be 
conserved for use in the schoolroom. Very, very few 
teachers can go to dances and parties, and teach a school 
properly. They come at a time when a teacher should 
be in bed asleep. This is not intended to mean that a 
teacher should never go out at night while he is teaching 
school. There are occasions when the teacher should be 
a leader in the social events of the neighborhood, but 
those events should not be mere dances and parties in 
the common acceptance of the terms. Then again, there 



60 The Rural School 

is the teacher who thinks he must work late at night or 
he will not get through with his next day's duties. It 
is true that a teacher should prepare his lessons for the 
next day, but he must so apportion his time that he 
shall be bright and fresh for the next day's work. 
Freshness of spirit and vigor of mind are as indispen- 
sable as well planned lessons. Find time to sleep. 

The teacher that builds up and maintains his health 
and vigor will have to find time for exercise each day, 
exercise in the open air. Of course, if the walk to and 
from the schoolhouse is long, it may suffice; but some 
exercise, not so much for the exercise itself as for the 
interest that it elicits, is better. Playing a game such as 
tennis, basket ball or croquet for an hour will give suf- 
ficient exercise, and at the same time will add pleasurable 
employment for the mind. If one enjoys caring for 
chickens or feeding and grooming horses, he will find 
suitable exercise for each day. Let no one think that he 
has not time for exercise; he has not time to omit it. 

Mental Improvement. — It is only when the old cells 
of the body are broken down and thrown off and new ones 
are supplied that physical vigor and vivacity are main- 
tained. So it is with the mind. If it doles out the same 
instruction from day to day and from year to year, it 
becomes dull and tired. It needs vigorous exercise. It 
needs to have its mental fibers quickened and energized 
by the rapid flow of red corpuscles bearing the life-giving 
oxygen. The mind that is dull will not of its own account 
command respect. Its possessor, if he deserves and com- 
mands respect at all, must gain it from some other source. 
The question comes again, ''How shall I maintain and 
increase mental vigor? " The answer is almost apparent, 
viz; give the mind food and exercise. To the new teacher 
the lessons of the school may furnish sufficient mental 



The Teacher — His Personality 61 

work for the first year; but to the experienced teacher 
who has gone over the work several times, it gives no 
mental exercise worth mentioning and he must do some- 
thing else or he will get into a rut. He should be reading 
some good book, something not exactly along the line of 
his school work, that will cause him to think. It may 
be a book on advanced history, or psychology; it may be 
philosophy or literature; it may be a professional book, 
history of education, philosophy of education or methods. 
As the body needs exercise different from the work of the 
day, so the mind needs to make new flights into other 
realms and view other scenes. In short, keep the mind 
fresh by learning something new each day. 

Moral Improvement. — The teacher who thinks that he 
can live a loose, inconsistent life out of school and main- 
tain his moral standing before his school, deceives him- 
self but not his pupils, for they will soon read his moral 
standing. The teacher that is morally weak loses his 
influence with his school. Pupils, as well as people in 
general, respect the person who has moral courage, 
who has moral principle and is willing to stand by it. A 
teacher once stopped men from betting on a school game 
of ball; they heeded him simply because he was in the 
right and they knew it; otherwise they would have 
laughed him to scorn. Though these men were in the 
habit of gambling at every game, they gave back the 
money and looked quietly on with the other spectators. 

It is moral greatness more than physical prowess or 
mental acuteness that determines the teacher's person- 
ality. This is not a veneer that may be put on as we put 
on our Sunday clothes, but it is real moral greatness. It 
comes from moral thinking and moral living. He cannot 
be morally great imless he is thinking good, pure thoughts, 
for as Miss Brownlee, formerly of the La Grange School, 



62 The Rural School 

Toledo, Ohio, has said, " Thoughts are things/' The 
fountain must be pure or the stream will not be pure. 
Thoughts tend to work themselves out through the mus- 
cular organism. Thoughts become deeds. " Out of the 
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," expresses 
the same truth. People expect the teacher to do just 
about right. V Although they may do very bad things 
themselves, they will complain to the county superin- 
tendent if the teacher steps just a little from the path of 
rectitude. Public opinion has set a very high standard 
for the teacher, and it is right that it should, for the per- 
son who teaches children should live a consistent life. To 
the credit of the profession, it can be truly said that very 
few teachers disgrace their calling by immoral lives. 

That we can maintain and improve our personality 
it is easy to conclude. As we improve our physical con- 
dition, as we grow mentally and morally, we improve our 
personality. As we grow greater in being, we strengthen 
that which gives us power with men. The young teacher 
ought not to expect to have as great a personal influence 
as he will have in days to come, and the teacher of years 
of experience will not be far wrong if he thinks the same. 

REFERENCES 

Benson, Personality of the Teacher. Educational Re- 
view 37 : 217 (March, 1909) . This article by Arthur Chris- 
topher Benson, of the University of Cambridge, is an 
excellent treatise on the subject. 

Colgrove, Teacher and the School (pp. 62-64)- 1910. 
Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.25. 

Jones, Principles of Education {chapter 5, The Teacher 
as an Influence). 1911. The Macmillan Co., $1.00. 

Maxwell, Personal Power of the Teacher. N. E. A. 
Proceedings 1908: 116. 



Chapter Vn 

THE FIRST DAY 
PREPARATION FOR THE FIRST DAY 

What shall be the work of the first day, and just how 
and when shall each thing be done, are questions that 
should not be left until time for the work to begin but 
should be answered in detail beforehand. The young 
teacher especially must give careful thought to the de- 
tails of this day's work. A good beginning is of great 
importance, as its impressions will last and will help to 
make the work of the remainder of the school easier or 
more difficult as the case may be. 

Inspection of House and Grounds. — There are certain 
things that should be inspected before the first day; in 
fact, all the plans for this day must be made in advance, 
and it is well to know what can and ought to be done. 
Of course nothing can be accomplished until the contract 
is made and signed; but as soon as this has been done, or 
at least a week or two before school is to begin, the teacher 
should visit the schoolhouse and inspect the house and 
grounds, the outbuildings and well, if there be one. 
During this inspection, note should be made of the con- 
ditions of the floor, walls, windows and outbuildings as 
to cleanliness; also as to whether repairs are needed. 
The result of this visit should be brought to the attention 
of the board, and courteous but insistent request made that 

63 



64 The Rural School 

the school premises be put in suitable condition for school. 
Sometimes the weeds in the school yard are so high and 
thick as seriously to impede the progress of the school 
and at the same time to give the school a bad name. 
While all these things are important, yet a teacher may be 
unreasonable in his requests. Asa rule, boards are will- 
ing to clean the house, grounds and outbuildings and make 
reasonable improvements, providing the matter is brought 
to their attention in the right way. Teachers should re- 
member that school officers are usually busy men, and 
also, that they get no compensation for the time and work 
they do in connection with the office of school directors. 
The teacher should bring these things to the notice of the 
board early so they will have plenty of time to get this 
work done. Sometimes it is almost impossible to get any 
one to do work of the kind needed, for every one is busy; 
in this case a little patience is necessary. This does not 
mean that the teacher will cease efforts before the school 
premises are put in shape for school. 

Some one may ask, " Will the teacher be justified in 
closing school until the board has had this work com- 
pleted? " Yes, the teacher might be justified, but it 
would not be good policy on the part of the teacher to 
do such a thing. The teacher had better interest the 
large boys and girls in the project and take a Friday 
afternoon and clean the house in this way, rather than 
live in an unclean house or stop the school. Resort to 
either of these methods will not often be necessary. 

The teacher needs the register for the names of the 
pupils of last year's school and such other information 
as it may contain, and he also needs the classification 
report in order to be familiar with the classification of the 
school. The teacher should take these with him and 
should study the names so that they will not be unfa- 



The First Day 65 

miliar to him when he meets the pupils for the first time. 
From the classification report the teacher can outline 
the work for each class for the first clay and the lessons 
to be assigned. If the program of the former teacher can 
be found, it will be of service in making a program for 
the first day, or it may be advantageous to use it without 
any change. 

METHODS OF PROCEDURE FOR THE FIRST DAY 

1. Be the first at the schoolhouse in the morning. This 
may be quite early, for the pupils in a rural community 
are usually excited about school the first day and anxious 
to see the new teacher or to get there first to have the 
choice of seats. There are other reasons for being there 
early on the first day which are best known to the boys of 
the neighborhood. If the teacher is not there before the 
pupils, some plans may be laid which are not to the 
teacher's advantage; at least, the teacher is on the safe 
side, if he is at the schoolhouse when the first pupils come. 

2. Assign seats. Greet pupils kindly as they enter the 
schoolroom, learn their names and assign them seats. 
Assign has been said designedly, for it must be under- 
stood from the beginning that the teacher has this right. 
If the teacher prefers, the pupils may be allowed to select 
their seats for the time being; but it must be with the 
distinct understanding that the teacher reserves the right 
to change them whenever there seems to be a need for 
such change. It may be best to talk over the matter of 
seats with each pupil, if there is opportunity. The 
teacher should not be dictatorial, and assign seats merely 
to show authority. If a pupil has a good reason why he 
wants to sit in a certain place, it may be the best policy 
to let him sit there. But often the reason for sitting in a 



66 The Rural School 

certain seat will not bear inspection and is not for the 
best interests of the school or the pupil. The teacher 
may have some plan of seating the room which the 
choosing of seats will entirely overthrow. In this case 
the thing is to ask for cooperation in carrying out this 
plan; this may settle all difficulties. Usually, the desire 
to select seats has some element of disorder in it. The 
pupils want to sit together that they may have a good 
time, or boys want to sit in the rear seats so that they 
will be a long way from the teacher. Here they hope 
to have more opportunities for whispering without the 
teacher's notice. 

From what has been said, it will be seen that the matter 
of seating may sometimes be quite a serious problem. 
Understand that here, as elsewhere, no definite rule can be 
laid down for the teacher to follow. Only a few of the con- 
ditions that may arise can be suggested, and the teacher 
will have to do his own thinking and make his own judg- 
ments as to the best way to meet those difficulties that 
confront him. The teacher who undertakes to use un- 
digested book methods, or even methods learned at a 
normal school, will fail. The good teacher adapts methods; 
he does not adopt them. 

3. Call school promptly at nine o^clock. Keep the 
time which the neighborhood generally keeps. If they 
all keep sun time, all right, it will do for the school; but 
whatever time the teacher keeps, let it be accurate time 
and let him follow it rigidly. 

4. Open school with appropriate exercises. Singing, 
reading of a passage of Scripture and prayer or the re- 
peating of the Lord's Prayer is a good form of opening 
exercises; the best according to the individual notion of 
many. But in some places the opposition to Scripture 
reading and prayer may be so strong that the teacher 



The First Day 67 

will want to use some other form of general exercises. In 
this case singing, quotations, current events, the reading 
of a good book, instructions in morals and other special 
features which the teacher may wish to introduce may be 
brought in at this time and in a way take the place of 
what was suggested above. The opening exercises have 
a purpose to fulfill, viz., the unifying of the minds of the 
children, — "the bringing in of their wandering minds 
and placing them " upon their lessons. It takes a little 
time to get ready for work, to get the mind off the out- 
side attractions, or distractions as the case may be. 
For this purpose, there is nothing better than music, for 
" Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." 

5. Assign lessons. The teacher will have outlined 
lessons for each class, using the course of study and classi- 
fication as a basis. Some of these lessons he may think 
best to write upon the board while he is waiting for 
time to call school. This will save time and trouble in 
doing it after school has been called. These first-day 
lessons may be something of a review, but they will not be 
a turning of the whole school back to the beginning of the 
book. 

Assign new lessons as your judgment dictates. Do 
not expect pupils to recite as well on the first day of 
school as when they left off the work. It will take them 
a few days to adjust themselves to school work again. It 
is seldom that students should go back to the first of the 
book. A few days of review will often fit them to go on 
from where they left off. 

6. Classify new pupils. Now everybody has something 
to do, except the new pupils who have never attended 
this school before, and possibly the beginners. This is a 
good time to look after the new pupils and classify them 
temporarily. The best that can be done at this time is 



68 The Rural School 

to give an oral quiz to find out about what each one has 
done in school before coming to this district. Then 
classify them as your judgment suggests and try them 
out in class. It may take a day or two to find out just 
where each one belongs, but as soon as possible each one 
should be assigned to his proper class. 

7. Follow a program. The teacher should have put 
up a program before the opening of school, either the 
last year's program or the one he has made for the day. 
He is now ready to follow this program and call classes 
according as they are suggested by it. If the little people 
are to recite first, they can then be given seat work to 
occupy their time while the other classes are reciting. 

Follow the program as closely as possible; at least, 
dismiss the school for recesses and noon hour on time and 
give the full length of time. 

Before school is closed, the teacher may make any 
announcements concerning changes in the program, 
methods of calling classes and passing out at close of 
periods, or any other regulation of the school. 

8. Close school promptly at four o'clock. The work of 
the day may not all have been completed, yet if all have 
been busy from nine o'clock in the morning to four in 
the afternoon a day's work has been done and it is time 
to close school. Send the pupils home in good humor, if 
possible, feeling that they have done a day's work. 

Method of Procedure without a Classification Re- 
port. — 1. Make a program. If the former teacher left 
no program, make one for your guidance for the first 
day, or until you know enough about the school so that 
you can make a permanent one. 

2. Assign lessons to older pupils. After opening ex- 
ercises, assign lessons to all pupils, to the older ones 
first. An easy way, and probably as good as any, is to 



The First Day 69 

assign a lesson to all who think they belong in the fifth 
reader, a lesson to all in the fourth reader, to all in the 
third reader, and so on down to the chart class. 

3. Examine, classify and assign lessons to younger 
pupils. Call the primary pupils for recitation, exami- 
nation and classification. Of course this is not to be a 
formal examination nor a rigid classification, but you 
can learn about as well what a child can do in this way 
as in any other. You will want to take their names and 
send them to their seats with some seat work to do. Do 
not expect five- and six-year-olds to study lessons like 
older pupils. 

Call the first reader class, examine and classify them. 
Assign the next lesson and seat work. 

Call the second reader class, examine, classify and 
assign work; and so on through all the classes and during 
all the day. Each class as it is called can bring with them 
the books for the next lesson. 

Summary. — The object the teacher should have in 
view is to set every one to work as soon as possible after 
opening exercises and to keep them busy all the day. 
Make the first day a full day of work. As a rule, rural 
schools have short terms, and parents are glad to have 
every day count. 

The young teacher will do well to assimilate these 
plans and follow them quite closely. The object to be 
obtained by using these suggestions is to keep every one 
employed while the school is being organized. One of 
the secrets of school management is to keep every one 
busy at some useful school work. Do this and many of the 
other things will take care of themselves. 

To the experienced teacher it may be said, that it is 
not necessary to follow these suggestions to the letter in 
order to make a good start on the first day; but if teachers 



70 The Rural School 

have been wasting time in getting organized, it will be 
well to heed some of the suggestions offered here, so that 
this day shall count with every other day as a day of work. 

REFERENCES 

Bagley, Classroom Management {chapter 2). 1907. 
The Macmillan Co., $1.25. 

Colgrove, Teacher and the School {chapter 10). 1910. 
Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.25. 

Dinsmore, Teaching a District School {pp. 21-26). 1908. 
American Book Co., $1.00. 

Wray, Jean MitcheWs School {chapter 2). Public School 
Publishing Co., Bloomington, 111., $1.00. 



Chapter VHI 
THE DAILY PROGRAM 

That there is a great waste in the daily work of our 
schools is apparent to any one who has investigated this 
subject. One needs but to visit our rural schools and ob- 
serve the number of minutes spent by pupils doing noth- 
ing; or inquire of young people whether they could have 
done their regular work just as well as they did, and in 
addition many other agreeable tasks, such as manual 
training, agriculture, etc., had these been set apart for 
them, and providing the teacher knew how to get them 
accomplished. 

It is not our intention, however, to outline what addi- 
tional subjects might with profit, — or possibly I should 
say must, in the near future, be introduced into the pro- 
gram of the rural school; but, rather, to give some sug- 
gestions about the making of a daily program for an 
average country school, so that some of this waste may be 
eliminated. 

There are three things for which a program should pro- 
vide, viz., study, recitation and recreation. The order 
in which these have been placed is the order of importance 
in the rural school; at any rate, allow them to stand in 
this order, for it is the study part of the program that 
needs emphasizing. 

71 



72 The Rural School 

THE STUDY PROGRAM 

In every store employing twenty or thirty clerks there 
is a definite understanding between the chief clerk and 
subordinate clerks, or between proprietor and clerks, 
where each one is to work and just what each one is to 
do. One man does not sell shoes, silks and clothing, but 
each has his place and his work, which is known to him- 
self and to the head of the establishment. It is necessary 
that there be system, or some would try to do more than 
they could do well and others would do comparatively 
nothing. 

The teacher is to be at the head of an establishment 
of ten, twenty or thirty workmen, and whether each one 
does his share depends upon the system with which he 
organizes this force of busy toilers. 

Will some work while others play? Will some inter- 
fere with the work of others? This is the case in many 
schools, and it is hard to eliminate it altogether; but this 
waste of time can be reduced to the minimum by sys- 
tematically organizing the forces. The storekeeper might 
say to his clerks, '^ I want you to* sell goods," but rather 
he says to one, " Go into my store and sell shoes; " to 
another, " Go and sell dress goods," and to a third, " You 
may sell carpets." Each one has his place and each one 
has his work. So the systematic teacher plans for the 
work of each one, and knows what each one should do 
each hour of the day. 

Not only should the teacher know what Harry should 
be doing now, but Harry should know what he should be 
doing and what his teacher expects him to be doing now. 
It should not be expected that young boys and girls so 
plan their work that at the end of the day they will come 
out without a loss of time. Advanced pupils may do this, 



The Daily Program 73 

but the teacher should do the planning for the little chil- 
dren at least. Our thought concisely stated is this: 
Every teacher should make a study program as well as a 
recitation program. 

There was a time when the teacher had no regular 
program, but had to stop to think what class he would 
call next. After studying for a few seconds he might say, 
" I guess I will hear the ' A ' class read to-day." But that 
day has passed and now every teacher has some kind of 
recitation program and follows it more or less closely, but 
not all teachers have a study program. This part of the 
day's work is left to the discretion of the pupils and, in 
the rural schools, the study part of the day's program is of 
great importance. With so many classes, the recitation 
periods must necessarily be very short, and, if the study 
periods are not well occupied, the work of the day will be 
indifferently or poorly done. If the rural teacher wishes 
to make his school a success, he must emphasize study. 
The progress of the pupils depends largely upon the 
amount of study they do. The study program simply 
systematizes this work for them. 

Study Periods. — There is a difference of opinion as to 
when the lessons should be studied. Following custom, 
the study period would immediately precede the recita- 
tion; but there are many reasons why it should follow 
the lesson. Among them are the following: 

1. If study is begun right after the recitation, pupils 
will go into the study of the lesson with the zeal and en- 
thusiasm of the recitation. 

2. If work is begun immediately after the lesson is 
assigned, the children will know just what to do. They 
will not have to ask about the lesson. 

3. The lesson to be learned for the next day will have 
to be more thoroughly studied and more carefully stored 



74 The Rural School 

away in the memory than the lesson that is learned to be 
recited at the next period. 

4. It is an advantage to the pupil who has to be out a 
day. While he will not be prepared on to-day's lessons, 
he will have studied the lessons for the day he was absent; 
he will get something of to-day's lessons from the recita- 
tions, and will be able to prepare his lessons for the next 
day. In a way, he has covered the ground and no serious 
break has been caused by this one day's absence. 

On the other hand, it seems that it is asking too much 
of those just learning to study to require them to prepare 
their lessons the day before they are to recite them. Sec- 
ond-grade pupils should begin to work in this way, as they 
will be required to do in the higher grades, but it should 
not be the regular practice. 

When to assign the lessons is a question that should 
receive consideration. It is not so important whether 
the lesson be assigned at the beginning of the recitation 
or at the close. The important thing is that the teacher 
take time to make a clear, definite assignment. If the 
teacher cannot bring himself to the point where he can 
close the recitation in time for a careful assignment at the 
end, he had better take time at the beginning of the recita- 
tion to make the assignment. Here again the little people 
should be excepted. Often the teacher will need to assign 
the work for them just before they do it. In fact, in the 
beginning, the teacher will need to show them what to do 
and how to do it and leave them to go on with the work. 

ARRANGEMENT OF CLASSES 

Waves of Fatigue. - — In making a program, it is worth 
while to take into account the waves of fatigue. By 
several experiments it has been found that the minds of 



The Dally Program 75 

children are brighter and better able to accompHsh their 
tasks during certain periods of the day than at others. 
The best time of the school is from about 9:15 to 10:30 
or eleven o'clock. Between eleven o'clock and the close 
of the morning session occurs the lowest depression of 
the wave. This is relieved by the noon recess, but it does 
not reach as high a point of effectiveness as in the earlier 
part of the day, nor does it reach as low a depression in 
the afternoon as in the morning session. 

One noticeable thing which these experiments show is 
that after an intermission of free play the wave rises. After 
the noon hour and after each recess, pupils are able to do 
better and more accurate work. 

The practical teaching of these experiments is that the 
more difficult subjects should come during the more 
favorable times of the day. Arithmetic, which is a diffi- 
cult subject for the upper grades, should be placed early 
in the day. If all of the arithmetic classes are postponed 
until after the first recess, as is often the case, some of 
them will come during the very poorest part of the day. 
Reading is probably the most difficult subject for the 
beginners and may come first for them. Arithmetic 
followed by reading, grammar followed by geography and 
history is probably a good order of subjects. It has been 
found that some subjects may take almost any place on 
the program, but others suffer if they do not have favor- 
able places; for example, reading, except in the case of 
beginners, may come almost any time in the day without 
appreciable loss, while such subjects as arithmetic and 
grammar lose much if they are not given good places on 
the day's schedule. 

Saving Time. — In a rural school where there is a de- 
mand for so many classes, the saving of time is a factor 
in accomplishing the work outlined for the day. If in 



76 The Rural School 

the moving of classes, or by combining two or more classes 
the teacher can save ten or fifteen minutes, this time can 
be used for some other recitation. The inexperienced 
teacher sees the demand for so many classes that the time 
is divided into small bits, and thus no recitation is worth 
much. Twenty classes are about as many as one teacher 
should undertake to handle; but conditions often seem 
to force the teacher to have a greater number than this. 
Superintendents who have visited a good many rural 
schools and have given this subject quite a little study, 
think that under no circumstances should the number of 
classes ever exceed twenty-four or twenty-six. In order 
that a teacher be able to conduct such a number of classes 
in one day and at the same time benefit those who are to 
recite, it is necessary that not a moment of time be lost; 
and often the teacher will need to use every device known 
to the craft to get the number down to its proper limit and 
do justice to the individuals of the school. A few devices 
for saving time and reducing the number of classes are 
suggested below: 

1. Two or even three small classes in reading may be 
called at the same time, and those not reciting may be 
studying the next lesson at the recitation seat. 

2. Two classes may be moved at the same time, using 
the same set of signals for both; one returning to their 
seats and the others coming, to the recitation bench. 
'' Rise! pass! be seated! " will answer for signals for both 
classes. 

3. Two arithmetic or two grammar classes may be 
called at the same time, and one may be given written 
work at the board while the other is given oral work. 

4. The teacher can manage to give a written lesson 
each day to some class, passing this from class to class so 
that each class will have about one written lesson a week. 



The Daily Program 77 

This lesson can be so planned that it will not take much 
time from the other parts of the program. 

5. Lessening the number of classes is another way of 
saving time. Two classes may be combined, or " al- 
ternated " as it is called in many courses of study. 
For example, the fourth and fifth grades both use the 
fourth reader, and thus may both read, one year, the 
fourth year's work, and the next year, the fifth year's work. 
This kind of combination can be made in history, geog- 
raphy, language and sixth- and seventh-grade reading. 
If there is an agreement in the state or county as to when 
certain work will be alternated, as, that the fourth year's 
work in rea;ding will be begun in the odd years, there will 
be no conflict when pupils go from one school to another, 
and the plan will work quite well. 

6. If the number of classes demanded is about to ex- 
ceed the maximum, it is better to have some classes re- 
cite twice a week and others the other three days. This 
plan should be followed with the advanced classes only. 

7. Some teachers arrange a program from which certain 
classes will be omitted each day of the week. For example, 
geography classes will not recite on Mondays, and certain 
arithmetic classes will not recite on Tuesdays, and so 
forth, making four recitations a week instead of five. 

8. Sometimes older pupils preparing for the county 
examination desire to review all the subjects in the curric- 
ulum and would greatly increase the number of classes. 
This can be avoided to a great extent by having them do 
intensive study on a few subjects and then drop them and 
take up something else. For example, if a student wants 
to review reading, orthography and geography, let him 
spend a month each on reading and orthography and two 
months on geography. This will be better than for him 
to carry all three of these subjects for four months, 



78 



The Rural School 







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80 The Rural School 

making three recitations a day. One recitation a day will 
be all that is necessary to carry these three subjects for 
the four months, if these suggestions are followed. 

It is to be understood that these devices are for the 
busy teacher with the crowded program. They are not 
better than the regular way of having each class do its 
own work and recite every day for five days in a week. 

On pages 78 and 79 is given a program for a country 
school having seven grades, showing how the study and 
recitation programs may be combined. 

REFERENCES 

Bagley, Classroom Management {chapter Jf). 1907, 
The Macmillan Co., $1.25. 

Colgrove, Teacher and the School (chapter 12). 1910. 
Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.25. 

Dinsmore, Teaching a District School (pp. 43-^5). 
1908. American Book Co., $1.00. 

Seeley, Foundations of Education {chapter 5). Hinds, 
Noble and Eldredge, $1.00. 



Chapter IX 
THE RECITATION 

The recitation is the important event in the day's 
program. It is for this that teacher and pupils have pre- 
pared. It is the time for which all other exercises of the 
day lend their aid. It is then that the teacher and the 
pupils transact the business of the school. The pupil 
spreads before the teacher his store of treasures; the 
teacher tells him which to keep and sends him back to the 
storehouse for another supply, with instructions as to 
what to select and, perhaps, a few hints as to how to ex- 
hibit his store. 

The Three Functions of the Recitation. — The English- 
man places little stress upon the daily recitation, but 
emphasizes the examination as the opportunity for test- 
ing. The same is true of the German teacher. But we 
Americans think of the recitation as a place of testing, 
teaching and training. Some teachers who have studied 
the subject little think the recitation is complete when 
they have tested the class and found out what the pupils 
know. This is only a small part of the opportunity of the 
recitation. It might be not a third of what ought to be 
done. Again, some will teach, teach, teach, or perhaps 
it better be said, talk, talk, talk, and never stop to find 
out whether they have taught anything or not. Talking 
is not necessarily teaching; it may be far from it. Most 
teachers talk too much. The teacher should talk less 

81 



82 The Rural School 

and get his pupils to talk more. How does a teacher know 
what to say until he has found out what the pupil knows? 
Whatever the pupil knows about the lesson he should be 
allowed to tell. He may not be able to express himself 
in the best of language, but with some criticisms from 
pupils and a few corrections and suggestions from the 
teacher and with another effort he will improve. It is by 
drill, — going over again, correcting, improving, repeating 
— that the training, which makes usable the knowledge 
obtained, shall be secured. 

Securing Attention. — Before the recitation can pro- 
ceed with profit, the teacher must have the attention of 
the class. The practical question for the teacher to ask 
at this point is, '^ How can I secure and hold attention? " 
This is not an easy question to answer, for there are so 
many things that may come in to distract attention, or, 
it may be, there is so little to attract attention. In the 
first place, everything that will distract attention from the 
lesson should be removed, if possible. The desks should 
be cleared of all books, except those that may be for use 
in the recitation. If none are to be used, then the desks 
should be perfectly clear. All paper, pencils, knives, 
marbles, etc., should be out of sight and, perhaps, out of 
reach, and the class in a good position near the teacher. 
In the second place, there must be something to which to 
attend. The teacher may now be thought of as a caterer 
who is to prepare the banquet. If this meal is so pre- 
pared and served as to tempt the tastes and appetites 
of those who are to eat, there will be little trouble about 
getting them to attend. So if the lesson is properly 
assigned, if the pupils are well prepared for the lesson, 
there will be little trouble in getting attention. 

Arousing Pupil's Interest. — But the following of the 
suggestions given above will not always secure attention, 



The Recitation 83 

for some minds will wander, because they are more in- 
terested in something else. Interest is catching. Let the 
teacher become intensely interested in the subject and in 
the boys and girls of the class. This will exert a great in- 
fluence in getting the pupils interested. Interest begets 
attention, so when you have your class interested, you 
have them attending. It is equally true that attention 
begets interest, so that required attention is not out of 
place, but it in turn will lead to interest in the subject 
at hand. 

These suggestions do not cover all the ground, nor sug- 
gest a remedy for all the cases that may arise. As has 
been said before, the conditions must be met and mastered. 
Inattention may be caused by one of many things. It 
may be the monotony of the teacher's voice, the lack of 
variety, the condition of the atmosphere of the room, lack 
of animation on the part of the teacher, etc. But, what- 
ever it is, it must be overcome and attention must be 
secured; for we are not teaching unless the pupils are 
learning, and pupils are not learning unless they are giving 
attention. 

The Recitation for the Whole Class. — The whole class 
should be giving attention, for the recitation is for 
the whole class. In general, the oral recitation is better 
than the written, because, when the pupil recites aloud, 
the class gets the benefit of his recitation. The pupils 
can then compare their information with that of the re- 
citing pupil. If his knowledge is approved by the teacher, 
the rest of the class can correct theirs by this standard; 
on the other hand, if the pupiPs recitation is disapproved 
by the teacher, the other members of the class may offer 
their information for the teacher's criticism. It is some- 
times the custom for teachers to have one member of the 
class explain a problem while the other members are still 



84 The Rural School 

working their examples at the board. The objection to 
this practice is that the teacher and the one member are 
all that get the benefit of this explanation, while it should 
be for the whole class. 

PURPOSES OF THE RECITATION 

Superintendents who have visited extensively in our 
rural schools tell us that there is a great deal of purposeless 
teaching. The young teacher, who has not studied the 
subject, hears recitations because that is the way it was 
done when he went to school. It is not because he has 
any special end in view, and generally no end is reached. 
In this chapter the purposes of the recitation will be 
studied to see if there is any reason for conducting such 
an exercise. 

I. To Find What the Pupil Knows. — In his book on 
^'Method in Education," Mr. Roark gives as the first 
purpose of the recitation the following: '' To find what 
the child knows and how he knows it." This seems to be 
important, for it is not enough that a child can say in 
parrot fashion the words of the lesson. He may have 
a good verbal memory and may have memorized the 
words of the book and yet know comparatively nothing 
of the thought. It may be that it is not his own work, 
perhaps some one has helped him or has worked his 
problem for him, and he does not understand it at all. 
If it is written work, his seatmate may have earned the 
credit that is due. He may be visual-minded and remem- 
ber the words as they appear on the page, and when the 
picture is gone all that he knows about the subject fades 
also. Thus it is important not only that the teacher find 
out what a pupil knows but also how he has learned it 
and how he holds it in mind. 



The Recitation . 85 

2. To Find What the Pupil does not Know. — The 

second purpose that Mr. Roark gives is ''To find out 
what he does not know and why he does not know it." 
The resourceful pupil will find numerous reasons why he 
does not know his lesson, but the teacher is interested in 
the valid ones only. It may be asked, Was the pupil pre- 
pared for this lesson? Or it may be the lesson was too 
long or perhaps too short. Did the pupil try to get the 
lesson, or were conditions of the room such that he could 
not study? Perhaps conditions at his home are not favor- 
able to study and school work. He may be motor-minded 
and unless he may move his lips while studying or in 
some way accompany study with muscular activity he 
cannot learn. It may be that he is auditory-minded and 
learns those things he hears better than those things he 
reads. All these things interest the teacher and he must 
consider them in directing the work of the pupil. It is 
not mere curiosity that should lead the teacher to this in- 
quiry, but a purpose and a determination to remove the 
obstacle and correct the evils. 

• 3. To Correct Pupil's Mistakes. — This object must 
not be lost sight of, for few pupils get a correct idea of a 
subject from their own study, so that they are able to 
express it clearly. The teacher must correct these ideas 
or have other pupils do it. 

4. To Supplement Pupil's Knowledge. — The teacher 
should know more of a subject than is contained in the 
textbook, and when the class have exhausted their re- 
sources, the teacher may come in with additional knowl- 
edge and information that makes the thought clearer and 
enlivens the recitation. 

5. To Lead Pupils to Correct Expression. — As a rule 
pupils should be required to recite in complete sentences. 
A good plan to follow is to require the pupil to stand and 



86 . The Rural School 

to recite in full statements. Do not accept a word or 
phrase for the full statement of the fact. There may be 
one exception to this rule, viz., in number work. When 
the teacher is working for rapid results he cannot wait 
for full statements. The teacher should keep a watchful 
eye on the English used in the recitation. Give pupils the 
idea early in their school life that their knowledge is for 
use, the English in the arithmetic class, the arithmetic in 
the geography class, etc. As far as possible, good pure 
English should be demanded in all classes. Mr. Mc- 
Keever in his book, '^ The Psychologic Method in Teach- 
ing," extends the idea of expression beyond that of mere 
verbal utterances. The sawing of a board, the painting 
of a picture, the making of a dress or the baking of a loaf 
of bread are all means of expression, and are valuable in 
the markets of the world. The newer idea of education 
would have these recognized and cultivated as well as 
the use of good English. 

6. To Prepare for the Next Lesson. — The recitation is 
a time in which to prepare for the next recitation, or 
rather to prepare for the study period. There is the prep- 
aration of the ground before the planting of the seed. 
To see that the pupils are prepared for the next lesson is 
one object of the recitation which the teacher should be 
careful not to forget. 

7. To Study Pupils. — There is no place that the 
teacher comes nearer to his pupils than in the recitation, 
and thus it becomes a place to study each pupil, — to learn 
his likes and dislikes, his pecuHarities and inclinations. 
It furnishes an opportunity, also, to develop character. 
Honesty of purpose, upright dealing, true manliness and 
many of the other virtues may be cultivated in the recita- 
tion by the teacher who is a lover of truth and has high 
ideals of living and acting. Each subject has its moral 



The Recitation 87 

lesson. History has its heroes, arithmetic its exactness 
and pr-ecision, and Hterature its world of truths. 

Conclusion. — Each author who treats of school 
management gives a Hst of six or eight purposes of the 
recitation more or less similar to the above, but the young 
teacher just beginning the work of teaching need not 
worry if he cannot keep in mind all these purposes for 
each recitation. He needs to know them and gradually 
seek to accomplish them. But he will realize that there 
is more to do in the recitation than simply to '' hear the 
lesson." This he should do, but he should also seek to 
make it a place of intense interest in the lesson at hand, 
a place of pleasure, not a place of torment. If he will cor- 
rect the pupils' mistakes in a kindly spirit and lead them 
back into the right road; if he will connect the work of 
the schoolroom so closely with the homes and their life, 
that each pupil will feel that he is getting something worth 
while and something he can use; if he will somehow and 
at sometime inspire his pupils with an intense desire to 
know more and be more, the professional fraternity will 
forgive his pedagogical sins, though he should fail to keep 
all the rules of the recitation. He must never forget, how- 
ever, that the recitation is a place for the teacher to teach 
and the learner to learn. These things can be accomplished 
only h y the teacher who knows and who grows, who has a 
purpose in life and a laudable ambition to succeed, even 
though it takes work, work, work to accomplish this end. 

MECHANICS OF THE RECITATION 

In order to attain the high ideals set forth in the pur- 
poses of the recitation, it will be necessary to use every 
device, every method that will assist. There are certain 
arrangements which may be made, certain regulations 



88 The Rural School 

to be observed, that will greatly aid in the successful 
progress of the recitation. 

Order of the Room. — Before beginning the recitation 
the teacher should see that the room is in order, i. e., 
see that all questions have been answered that should be 
answered at this time; that each one is at his task for this 
period; that the room is properly heated and ventilated, 
and that such other mechanical duties as may call the 
attention of the teacher or the class shall have been per- 
formed. 

Movement of Classes. — There should be a definite 
understanding as to how a class shall move, i. e., whether 
they shall pass straight forward from where they stand 
after rising from their seats, or whether they shall all 
move to the back of the room and come up one of the side 
aisles; what shall be each one's place in the class, or 
whether the class shall recite from their regular seats. 
In a rural school, unless there are single seats and the 
pupils are seated according to grades, the class should 
move to a recitation seat near the teacher. Close range 
adds efficiency in the recitation. In this case it is quite 
important to have signals for the movement of the classes. 
The following are perhaps as good as any: ^' Third reader 
class, stand! pass! be seated! " or " Stand! pass to board! 
erase! " Some accomplish this by counting, '^ One, two, 
three," etc. Some use a bell, but the noise is distracting. 
However, the plan is not so important as the way it is 
used. The common fault is to give the signals so fast 
that it is impossible for the pupils to obey them. This 
breeds disorder and thwarts the very purpose for which 
the signals are used. Some will be coming to the class 
while others are just rising or perhaps looking for a book 
in the desk; some are being seated while others are com- 
ing to the recitation seat, and thus all order, the very 



The Recitation 89 

thing for which the teacher is striving, is lost. Give the 
first signal and allow plenty of time for it to be obeyed 
before giving the second. See also that pupils are at- 
tempting to comply with the signals. In other words, 
give plenty of time in which to execute the requirements 
of the signals and require prompt obedience. A little 
persistency along this line will soon bring good order in 
the movement of the classes. These suggestions will 
apply equally well to dismission at noon and recess. 

The larger the number of pupils, the more need there 
will be of regulations in handling them, and vice versa. 
As suggested in the chapter on the Daily Program, if the 
school is large and time is precious, one class may come 
to the recitation while the pupils who have just recited 
are passing to their seats. This gives pupils an opportunity 
for some foolishness while meeting in the aisles; but, 
when the teacher has good control of the school, he can 
use this order of passing. 

Position of Teacher. — It is quite important that the 
teacher assume a dignified and graceful position before 
the class. No slouchy or uncouth posture is at all ex- 
cusable. The teacher may sit or stand as the occasion 
seems to demand. Inquiry of a number of Normal stu- 
dents seems to indicate their preference for the standing 
attitude. When the teacher is on his feet, he can see 
better what is going on in the room. It is a good plan for 
the teacher to move around the room at times to see what 
otherwise would be hidden from his sight. 

Position of Pupil. — Some of what has been said about 
the teacher is applicable to the pupil, — at least, that he 
is more alive when on his feet. This also maj^ be empha- 
sized, viz., that as a rule he should hold his book in his 
left hand; that almost without exception the pupil 
should stand while reciting, for the other members of 



90 The Rural School 

the class can hear better, and he needs to think while 
standing. A graceful position, without the aid of seats 
or other support is hard for the teacher to secure from 
all pupils. They have not been '' trained from their 
youth up," and have contracted habits of careless pos- 
ture; or it may be that bashfulness is the cause of an 
awkward position. The bashful child should not be 
treated the same as the careless child; he should be 
shown and encouraged, but not scolded. The teacher's 
opportunity for this kind of training is with the little 
folks before they have become selfconscious and bashful. 
The teacher of little children has an opportunity of 
training them in graceful habits, that should not be 
overlooked. 

No Textbook in the Hands of the Instructor. — While 
there may be times and conditions which will justify the 
teacher in having a textbook in hand, yet there are so 
many other advantages and arguments for not having the 
textbook in hand that it is a good rule to adopt. Consult 
your own experience as a pupil and see which teacher did 
the better work, the one that was tied to the book or the 
one that was free from it. Let the teacher test him- 
self to see which lesson he teaches the better, — the one 
in which he is confined to the book, or the one in which 
he knows the subject and does not need the book. 

Assignment. — On the part of the teacher there should 
be careful preparation for the assignment of the lesson. 
Whether the lesson shall be the next five pages or the next 
page, depends upon several things. It may be that the 
next lesson in arithmetic should be twenty examples, or 
it may be that it ought to be three, depending very much 
upon the class, upon the problems and other conditions, 
such as weather, other lessons, social attractions, etc. 
These conditions the teacher should know before at- 



The Recitation 91 

tempting to assign the lesson. In other words, the teacher 
should know that the class is ready for the lesson and 
that there will be opportunity to study it. If the pupils 
are not ready to proceed, they should review until such 
time that they will be able to proceed step by step from 
the known to the unknown. This advice is not for the 
teacher who always wants to turn the classes back to the 
first of the book at the beginning of every term. This is 
generally done by teachers who have a false conceit that 
they are going to do more thorough work than has been 
done by the previous teacher. 

The assignment should be clear and definite. Pupils 
should not be allowed to go away from the class not know- 
ing just what preparation is needed for the next recitation. 
They should know it so clearly that they will know when 
they have their lessons learned. 

Too long a lesson ties the hands of the teacher; too 
short a lesson leads to idleness on the part of the pupils. 
The following incident from a superintendent of many 
years' experience well illustrates the latter point. A 
teacher had assigned a class 20 words for their next spell- 
ing lesson. The superintendent asked if he might take the 
book. This being granted, he pronounced the 20 words 
to the class and only one was misspelled. Of course the 
superintendent plainly demonstrated to that teacher that 
she had assigned no work for the class commensurate 
with their ability. They would either not study, or they 
would go over something which they already knew and 
dawdle away their time, — in either case acquiring waste- 
ful habits. 

In the assignment, the teacher links the old lesson with 
the new, and explains such parts as the class will not be 
able to get for themselves. Some days, when the new 
lesson consists of almost wholly new material, the teacher 



92 The Rural School 

will need to take most of the period in assigning the new 
lesson. It may be well to study the lesson over with 
the pupils. In a beginning reading class, the new words 
will need development; in a geography class the unusual 
words will need to be pronounced, and perhaps, to be ex- 
plained. A class in history may not be able to see the 
connection between what they have already had and 
that which is to follow. Every class should be so grounded 
in the assignment of the lesson that by their own efforts 
they can prepare for a creditable recitation. 

When once the lesson is assigned, both teacher and 
pupils should be prepared on it for the next day. The 
pupil should be held to strict account for just what has 
been assigned, and should have an opportunity to tell 
what he has learned about it. The teacher is not to recite 
the lesson now but the pupil. Here is where a good many 
teachers fail; they either recite the lesson for the pupil 
or accept a poorly learned lesson as one well learned. 
Accept no recitation as perfect that is not a clear, accurate 
expression of the thought of the lesson. Clear, accurate 
thinking is an object worth attaining. 



Chapter X 

THE RECITATION (Continued) 
DEVICES OF THE RECITATION 

It was said in the previous chapter that interest begets 
attention. Now it may be profitable to know some ways 
of creating interest. H-ere, as in all school work, the 
teacher must use his own individuality — be himself. 
A teacher's personality will do more to arouse and hold 
interest than any or all the devices or rules that may be 
given in ttis book. Yet, if the teacher can adapt some of 
these devices, and make them his own, they will assist 
in making his school more interesting. Only a few can be 
suggested; he must find some more of his own contriving. 

1. The Teacher Being Taught. — The teacher may 
assume the position of not knowing and of being taught 
by the pupils. 

2. Pupils the Questioners. — Notice that pupils are 
to give questions such as the teacher would ask on the 
lesson. Pupils will have questions about some phases 
of almost every lesson, but to ask the questions as the 
teacher would ask them is another thing. 

3. Contests. — Debates and contests have been found 
interesting in a class in history. Debate some such 
question as, '' Which did more for his country, Lincoln 
or Washington? '' Sometimes a contest in geography, 
spelHng or arithmetic will arouse great interest in the sub- 
ject under discussion, 

93 



94 The Rural School 

4. Variety. — The three points above mentioned might 
be summed up by saying, — have variety and spice in 
your recitations. Spring a pleasing surprise upon the 
class. Tell an interesting story that will illustrate some 
point in the lesson; a good laugh is healthy sauce for a 
class of young people. The story should not be for the 
story alone, but for the sake of the recitation and should 
illustrate some point in the lesson. 

METHODS OF THE RECITATION 

There are several ways in which a lesson may be con- 
ducted. Following are a few suggestions in regard to 
classroom methods which may be found helpful. 

I. Oral and Written. — In every school there should 
be both oral and written recitations. Of the two, the 
oral work calls for the higher type of thinking. The pupil 
must be alert, ready, and must frame his composition on 
the spur of the moment. He does not have time to go 
back and correct, nor to study long as to how he will form 
his sentences. The oral recitation tends more to cultivate 
extemporaneous speaking, rather than careful and exact 
expression of thought. 

The written recitation gives opportunity for more 
accurate statements and better language in which to ex- 
press one's thoughts. A pupil needs practice in both. 
Many of our rural teachers are inclined to neglect written 
work, while city teachers often overdo it. Many boys and 
girls from the rural schools come to the County Diploma 
or Teachers' examination without ability to express them- 
selves clearly on paper or to answer a question completely. 
This comes from two evils, viz., the want of written work 
in school, and the lack of the habitual requirement of ac- 
curacy — the need of giving the answer in full, complete 



The Recitation 95 

sentences. Too many teachers are willing to accept a 
word or two instead of a complete statement of the 
truth required. 

2. Object Method. — In order to be successful, the 
teacher of beginners must know and use the object method. 
The order in teaching is the object, the thought, the 
word. When teaching a new subject, the object itself 
furnishes the best illustration, next the picture of the 
object, then a drawing and lastly a description. This is 
but saying in other words that the concrete should pre- 
cede the abstract. The child probably does very much 
of its first thinking by the use of object symbols. 

The importance of having objects for use in our teach- 
ing is often illustrated in our own experiences. The 
writer might give a description of Pike's Peak, how it 
looks hke a huge pile of rock some builder has unloaded 
for a mammoth building. He might go on into the details 
of the description, yet how surprised the reader would be 
when he sees it with his own eyes. How different it will 
appear from what he imagined. Notice the use of this 
method in the chapters on primary methods. 

3. The Topic Method. — It is a good practice to have 
pupils recite by topics. The teacher announces the topic 
and the pupil arises and discusses the subject to the 
best of his ability without any other suggestion from the 
teacher or pupils. It requires independence and a better 
grasp of the subject than when required to answer a few 
questions on the topic. This method can be used to 
advantage in history, physiology, civil goveriunent, geog- 
raphy, etc. 

4. The Lecture Method. — This method has httle 
place in the rural schools. It may be used in a college or 
university where the professor has given a subject special 
study and has original material not in the textbook. This 



96 The Rural School 

he gives to his pupils in the form of lectures and requires 
it back in the test or examination. From the very nature 
of the case, our rural teachers must learn to use the text- 
books and be content to use the methods that may be 
applied to them. 

5. The Question Method. — The teacher can afford to 
make of himself a big question mark and learn how and 
where to place it. One of the great teachers of the world 
used this method so exclusively and so effectively that he 
gave his name to a method of questioning. The teacher 
can covet no more desirable art than to be a good ques- 
tioner. There is, perhaps, no better way of teaching than 
by asking questions in a proper manner. 

There are a few directions a student may learn that 
will be of great advantage to him in mastering the art 
of framing questions. In the first place, the teacher should 
be original in the question asked, and not tied to the ques- 
tions of the book. These questions may be a guide to him in 
arranging others, but he will never be a good questioner 
until he frees himself from dependence upon the textbook. 

In the next place, all questions should be clear and 
definite. They should call for something, and that thing 
should not be one of two or more things. For example, 
if the teacher asks what lake is on the boundary of New 
York State, he has not made himself clear, for there are 
several lakes that will answer these conditions. Again, 
if he say, '' Give me the definition of a fraction," he sug- 
gests that there is only one kind of fraction, whereas there 
are several kinds and he has not signified which one he 
wants defined. 

Then again, the questioner should endeavor to make 
his questions follow each other in logical order. The skill- 
ful questioner can begin where the pupil is and by a series 
of questions arranged consecutively and in logical order, 



The Recitation 97 

lead the pupil step by step from the known to the related 
unknown. This was Socrates' method. If the pupil 
thought that he knew more than he really did, by ques- 
tions Socrates would lead him to see how very little he 
knew and how insignificant was his knowledge. If, on 
the other hand, his pupil lacked self-confidence, he would 
lead him from one step to another to realize that he knew 
a great deal. 

Leading a student step by step to a clear and definite 
understanding of a subject by means of a series of logical 
questions is called the Socratic method of teaching. 

When the teacher wants to find out what his pupils 
know about a certain subject he can best do this by a 
series of questions called testing questions. Here there 
is no place whatever for suggestive questions. Any sug- 
gestion of the answer defeats the very object for which the 
questions were asked. These should not be the questions 
that can be answered by yes or no; they should call for 
definite information gotten from textbook or elsewhere. 
When the instructor desires to teach certain truths or to 
lead pupils to see certain relations, often he can best 
accomphsh this by a series of questions called instruc- 
tional questions. 

When it is a choice between telling, or asking a sug- 
gestive question, use the question. It is better to ques- 
tion a child into seeing a thing than it is to tell it to him. 

In teaching, there is not much use for the direct or 
categorical question. \¥e may ask a pupil whether he has 
studied his lesson or not, and he may answer by yes or 
no; but to ask, ^' Is Kansas bounded on the north by 
Nebraska? " is hardly worth the effort that it takes to 
ask it. 

We are often warned against the use of elliptical ques- 
tions, but it seems that we may use them sometimes for 



98 The Rural School 

variety. Questions are used to arouse pupils to earnest 
thinking and good expression, and any form of question 
that will do this, may be used with profit. 

As a rule the question should be directed to the whole 
class, and then some one called on to answer it. If this 
plan is used to its fullest extent, every one in the class will 
be held responsible for the answer, and each one will be 
formulating the reply. If the individual who is called 
upon to answer the question has not a clear idea of the 
subject, the teacher may need to question him to lead 
him into a clearer understanding of the matter. 

INDUCTION AND DEDUCTION 

What we have given above under the caption of methods 
may be objected to as not worthy the name methods, 
being simply devices. However that may be, all will 
agree that there is an inductive and a deductive method 
of teaching and that they should be understood by all 
progressive teachers. 

Induction. —When the mind proceeds from the par- 
ticular to the general, it is called inductive reasoning or 
inductive thinking. This is best illustrated by some of the 
inductive sciences, as botany for example. Botanists 
have studied the life, habits and structure of plants until 
they can tell us many interesting and useful facts or 
laws about them. They have learned from observation 
that if a plant has seed it has had a flower of some kind 
and belongs to the great series of flowering plants. If 
the leaves are parallel veined, we may look for certain 
other characteristics. 

Again, we observe that this neighbor has died. We 
notice that old people become feeble and die, etc.; and 
finally we come to the conclusion that all men will die, 



The Recitation 99 

that " Man is mortal." This last statement is what is 
called the " general or universal." 

Deduction. — We reached the above conclusion by a 
series of observations, and we call this process induction. 
But, if we should begin with this conclusion, " Man is 
mortal " and reason from it in the following way, e. g., 
" Man is mortal, John is a man, therefore John will die," 
— we are reasoning deductively. We are proceeding 
from the general to the particular. 

Induction, then Deduction. — Both these methods have 
their place in teaching, but most educators think that 
induction is the more natural for the young student. The 
faculty of observation is active in early life, for the child 
is seeing, handling, tasting and hearing at every oppor- 
tunity, and drawing his childish conclusions, some true 
and some not. He makes his deductions also, e. g., he 
thinks, '^ I can push a chair; this is a chair; therefore 
I can push this.". 

It is generally believed that, if a subject can be pre- 
sented inductively, this is the better method to follow. 
So, instead of learning the rules in arithmetic first and 
then working the examples and problems by the rule, 
examples and problems are worked, illustrations are 
given and finally the rule is formulated. In the study of 
the sciences the laboratory method and the inductive 
method are one and the same method. One goes into a 
laboratory and observes that heat expands iron, that 
other metals expand when heated, that water and mer- 
cury expand under the influence of heat; in fact, all 
things that he has found expand under the influences of 
heat. He thus comes to the conclusion or universal " All 
things expand when heated." 

The Goal of the Recitation. — By this process of in- 
duction, going from the individual to the general, we reach 



100 The Rural School 

what Mr. Button in his " School Management " calls 
the " goal of instruction." He says that every recitation 
should have for its goal some universal truth. For ex- 
ample, a lesson in subtraction should lead up to the rule 
for subtraction; a lesson in percentage should lead to the 
rule for working examples in this case in percentage; a 
lesson in history should lead to some moral truth or 
patriotic sentiment. 

Whatever may be the advantage of the inductive 
method, we are called upon sometimes to present sub- 
jects that cannot be taught inductively, and must use 
deduction. No one need be alarmed, for it is a good 
method. Doubtless, the mind often follows induction by 
deduction. Our conclusions derived from induction are 
often hastily reached and faulty, and we need to test them 
by deduction. 

REFERENCES 

Bryan, The Basis of Practical Teaching {chapters 9, 10, 
11). Silver, Burdett & Co. 

Colgrove, Teacher and the School {chapter 17). 1910. 
Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.25. 

Button, School Management {chapters 11 and 12). 1903. 
Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.00. 

Hamilton, The Recitation. 1906. J. B. Lippincott Co., 
$1.25. 

Hinsdale, Art of Study {chapter 8). American Book Co., 
$1.00. 

Keith, Elementary Education {chapters 8 and 9). 1905. 
Scott, Foresman & Co., $1.25. 

B.odi,vk, Method in Education {p. 53). 1899. American 
Book Co., $1.00. 



Chapter XI 
TEACHING PUPILS HOW TO STUDY 

Meaning of Study. — By studying we mean the con- 
centrating of the mind upon a certain subject. The de- 
grees of studying in school may be expressed as follows: 
first, the simple thinking of a little child in connection 
with its seat work; second, gleaning thought from the 
printed page; third, judging; fourth, reasoning such as 
is required in solving difficult problems in arithmetic. 

Importance. — The importance of learning to study 
can hardly be overestimated. When one has learned to 
study, he has acquired the means of obtaining an educa- 
tion; even more, he has a large part of his education al- 
ready secured, for knowing how^ to study is a good part of 
an education. 

The Old Plan and the New. — From an inquiry of 
classes in a normal school, it has been found that few, and 
many times none, have had any instruction whatever in 
the grades in the art of study. Teachers have not thought 
that there was ajiy instruction to give about study, ex- 
cept to tell the pupils to study. Many of us in our child- 
hood days, when we were in earnest about studying, knew 
of no other way than to repeat, and we were encouraged 
to repeat by being requested to read our lesson over five 
times, to study our spelling over ten times. This we used 
to do in the following way : b-a-ba-k-e-r-ker, baker; b-a- 
ba-k-e-r-ker, baker; b-a-ba-k-e-r-ker, baker, as fast as we 

101 



102 The Rural School 

could make our tongues go, and with as little thought 
about how " baker '' was spelled as possible. We could 
do this and think most of the time about something else, 
and this was the feature that commended itself to the 
average boy or girl. It is easy to see that there was no 
mind concentration in this process. Its value depended 
entirely on the law of repetition; but there are ways of 
learning and remembering things other than by repeating 
them, and some of them are more economical. In teach- 
ing pupils how to study, the plan should be comprehensive, 
suited in its devices to the various grades of the school. 
The little beginner should be started, for if he is ever to be 
a scholar he must learn to study. (Beginners are not how- 
ever to study in the common acceptance of the term, 
and as they are often required to do.) The pupils learn- 
ing to read ought to be getting the thought from the 
printed page, and so on throughout all the grades of 
the school. 

STAGES IN THE ART OF STUDY 

Teaching Beginners to Study. — As was said in the 
previous paragraph, first-year pupils should not be ex- 
pected to do independent study, and even second-year 
pupils cannot do much studying, in the common accept- 
ance of the term. The practice of many rural teachers 
of putting the book into the hands of first-year pupils, 
and expecting them to study is all wrong. Yet they should 
be doing something that contains the elements of study 
and which will lead them into the art of study. Let us 
illustrate. It is conceded by psychologists that muscular 
activity, especially that which is under the control of the 
will, builds nerve or brain power; hence the reason for 
manual training in the school curriculum, and hence the 
place for much of the busy work or seat work used by all 



Teaching Pupils How to Study 103 

good primary teachers. The child who is placing two 
colored sticks in several positions, as, =, ^, -|-, X, etc., 
is doing some elementary study or thinking. When he is 
sewing the outline of a leaf or pricking the holes in a card 
to be sewed, he is doing appropriate study for a child that 
has just entered school and has never learned this work. 
In special schools for feeble-minded children, the first 
lesson is often some simple act, such as jumping over a 
stick. Something like this is thought to be sufficient at 
first, and by gradually making the requirement more 
difficult it is hoped to arouse the mind to activity. 

Much of the beginner's first work is imitation of what 
the teacher has just done, but there is, or should be, 
thought in this imitation, and there will be, if it is properly 
presented by the teacher. For example, the children are 
learning to write the word " flower.'' The teacher slowly 
writes the word on the board while the children are watch- 
ing every movement of the teacher's hand. The teacher 
calls attention to the form of the letter " f," — that its 
back is straight, that the upper part extends up farther 
than the " o" or " w," that the upper part is just like 
the 'M," that the lower part extends down as far below 
the line as the upper part extends above the line. He will 
call attention to how to go from the " f " to the " 1," from 
the " 1 " to the '' o," etc. He will now hide the word or 
have pupils close their eyes and try to see the word; after 
this he will erase the word and have them try to write it. 
This process of teaching writing is a thoughtful process 
and requires study, as intricate and exacting as little 
children should be required to attempt. 

The study of the first year should be something of what 
has been suggested above and should be almost wholly 
under the direction of the teacher. The seat work, the 
reading, the number work, in fact all the work of the school 



104 The Rural School 

should be thoughtful work. In teaching the first lesson in 
reading, the teacher will try to get thought expression 
from the pupil; this thought expressed he may use for the 
first sentence in the reading lesson. If the thought is the 
pupil's, there will be no trouble in getting correct ex- 
pression in reading; but if the thought is not the pupil's 
own, he will get correct expression by leading questions 
which will suggest the thought. Thus, the very beginning 
of reading may be a thoughtful process. The thought is 
directed and brought out by the teacher and it is not cus- 
tomarily called study, but it is elementary study under 
the direction of the teacher. It is not the grade of study 
required to get the thought from the printed page, a thing 
which children of this age should not be expected to do 
without the help of the teacher. 

Thought Getting. — If the kind of thought work sug- 
gested above is carried through the first year and con- 
tinued in the second year, by the middle of the second 
year, pupils may be expected to do some thought gleaning 
for themselves. This will have to be stimulated by the 
teacher, for where there is so much effort required in learn- 
ing to recognize and pronounce words, if the teacher is 
not careful, the energy will all be expended in this direc- 
tion and none will be left for getting the meaning of what 
is read. Indeed, in many schools the whole effort of the 
pupil is expended in getting the words. This is true in re- 
gard to the higher grades also, and even in the seventh 
grade, pupils are not getting the thought from the reading 
lessons. To call the word correctly seems to be the height 
of the ambition of many reading classes. This ambition 
is encouraged by the practice of allowing the pupils to 
make all the corrections in the reading class, for, as a rule, 
they criticise only the miscalled words. This custom has 
its place, but it should not be the only and most important 



Teaching Pupils How to Study 105 

criticism offered by class or teacher, nor should word 
calling be counted as reading. The calling of the words 
correctly is, no doubt, the first element, in process of time, 
in good reading; but in advanced reading, this part should 
be secondary, requiring httie thought and effort. Thought 
getting and thought expressing should absorb most of the 
energy and effort. The reason why boys and girls have 
hard work to get lessons in such subjects as history and 
civil government, is that they have not learned to glean 
the thought from the reading lesson. This is where 
they should learn it first, and it should be a continuous 
process from the first day in school to the last classic that 
the school is expected to read. Much trouble in arith- 
metic comes from pupils not being thoughtful readers. 
Our boys and girls have not learned how to study be- 
cause teachers have not taught them how to study, — 
they have not required thoughtful work in reading, the 
fundamental subject. 

Judging. — In the study of history and classics the 
pupils should be encouraged to do thinking for themselves. 
Pupils are quite willing to take the opinions of the author 
or teacher for their opinions. Especially in regard to 
morality should they be encouraged to form judgments 
of their own. The teacher should not be too free to ex- 
press his opinions. Let him hold them in reserve until 
the members of the class have expressed theirs. It is 
sometimes a good indication when a pupil differs from 
the opinion of the teacher. It shows, if it is not stubborn- 
ness merely, that he is doing some independent thinking. 
Current events furnish material for this kind of thinking. 

Reasoning. — Analysis in grammar and analysis in 
arithmetic furnish about the best material that our com- 
mon schools have for this higher form of study. Too many 
of our teachers allow analysis in grammar to degenerate 



106 The Rural School 

into diagramming in which there is no clear meaning, 
and neglect analysis in arithmetic altogether, so that our 
boys and girls get little training in this essential kind of 
study. In order to be good, clear thinkers, they must be 
able to take hold of a subject and analyze it, whether this 
be a speech of some legislator, or whether it be a business 
proposition. The foundation of this work should be 
laid by our common schools. A man should not be ex- 
pected to get this training wholly from experience, for 
tuition is high in the school of experience. 

Note that in all of the above suggestions there are 
problems of some nature to be solved. The little beginner 
has two sticks to place in a certain directed position. 
In the writing of the word flower, there are several small 
problems uniting in the larger problem of writing the 
word. When the child begins to read from the book, he 
has to find out what the book says and express it for the 
teacher and his fellow pupils. In literature or history, 
when the pupil is asked to form judgments regarding the 
character of Hamlet, Arnold or Washington he has a 
problem. In analysis of sentences in grammar or the 
solving of examples in arithmetic, the problem is very 
evident. The problem serves as the best incentive to 
study of any device yet found. 

HINTS ON STUDYING 

The Eye, The Hand, The Ear.— Of all the sense organs 
the eye is, perhaps, the most serviceable in conveying to 
us knowledge, both from books and from nature. Al- 
though our eyes sometimes deceive us, yet we believe in 
the old saying that '' seeing is believing." Children want 
to see, old people want to see, everybody wants to see, 
for every one learns so much by seeing. Although one 



Teaching Pupils How to Study 107 

learns by seeing, he is not satisfied with seeing alone; he 
wants to handle. On seeing something for the first time, 
a little child next wants to handle the new object, and 
grown people are much like children in this respect. Not 
everything about an object can be learned by the use of 
the eyes. Feeling and the muscular sense add to, and 
correct, the knowledge that comes through the eyes. An 
object may look heavy, but when lifted it is found to be 
light. Some retain that which they hear much longer than 
that which they read. It seems that sensations which come 
to them through the auditory channel are retained much 
more easily than knowledge gained from other sources. 

From these facts it would seem that it is important to 
present knowledge through the three channels to the 
mind, viz., the eye, the hand, the ear. That which we 
see, handle, and hear we know more about and remember 
longer. The writing of a lesson impresses it upon the 
memory. The committing to memory of an outline or the 
learning of a lesson in spelling is often facilitated by wri- 
ting the same. Drawing a map or an outline picture of 
an object appeals to both hand and eye. The teacher 
that is " handy " with chalk will find that it materially 
aids word pictures and he will soon be known as one who 
can ^' explain things.'' The oral element should not be 
neglected in recitation and study. In studying a lesson 
in reading, pupils should often be encouraged to read 
aloud to themselves, for thereby they are training the vocal 
organs and also the ear, two organs that must be trained 
to do good work in oral reading. It is sometimes good 
practice to read aloud a lesson in history, physiology, etc., 
for thus the ears are brought into use along with the eyes. 

In general, the greater the number of the senses that 
can be brought to bear upon an object, the more knowledge 
will be acquired and the longer will it be retained. 



108 The Rural School 

Three Times Over. — Children are sometimes en- 
couraged to study their lessons many times over, and this 
often becomes an ideal of perfect study, so that the child 
who has studied his lesson over ^' ten times, ^' has about 
reached the goal of perfection in study. But if this is 
given due consideration, it will be seen that ^' ten times " 
cannot be ideal, for the student would make slow progress 
if he were compelled to go over his lessons ten times. The 
ideal is one time. The advanced student should strive 
to get a lesson so well in once going over it that he will not 
need to go over it again. This will take concentration of 
thought and close application, such as is not expected of 
pupils in the grades. But they should not be led to think 
that they should go over a lesson many times in order to 
learn it. This is permissible only when the purpose is 
drill. When an artist is training the voice, or hand, or 
some other of the muscles of the body, it is necessary to 
repeat again and again, and here, also, thoughtful repeti- 
tion is much more effectual than thoughtless repetition. 
Too frequently this " many times over " is merely 
thoughtless repetition. 

Mr. Roark in his " Method in Education " suggests 
that a lesson should be learned in going over it three 
times. The first time it should be read as a whole. This 
can be done more or less hurriedly, aiming to get a general 
view of the lesson. The second time it should be studied 
very carefully, studying each paragraph separately and 
noting the particulars that come under this sub-topic. 
Most textbooks have the subjects of each paragraph in 
heavy-faced type; these furnish the sub-topics under 
which the student may arrange his knowledge of the 
lesson. In this second going over, the pupil is supposed to 
continue his study of the topic until he understands it and 
knows what is in this division of the lesson. Thus, para- 



Teaching Pupils How to Study 109 

graph by paragraph, he goes over his lesson, picking the 
whole to pieces. It now only remains for him to put it 
together again. This he does in the third going over. 
This time he may simply look at the headings of each para- 
graph, thinking them back into the whole lesson. If it 
should happen that he has forgotten what is said in one 
of the paragraphs, he will have to read it over again, but 
as soon as its contents come to him, he will go on. 

Concentration. — These suggestions can be followed 
only when thought is put into the study. Students 
sometimes find themselves reading along but thinking 
about something else. The thing to do under these cir- 
cumstances is to go back to the place where his thinking 
ceased and begin over again. If the student will ask and 
answer for himself this question, it will be a great aid 
to him in getting on the track again, '^ What is the sub- 
ject about which I am reading? " or in other words, 
'^ What is this author talking about? '' Sometimes this 
should lead back to the general subject, and again to the 
subject of the, paragraph. This question and its answer 
will often lend aid to an understanding of what an author 
means in a sentence that is difficult of interpretation. 

All of the above is but another way of saying that study 
is a thoughtful process. It is study only when the mind 
attends, and the more intently the mind attends, the 
more of its energy that is focused upon the subject at 
hand, the more will be accomplished. The more the mind 
is concentrated upon the subject at hand, the more the 
mind is absorbed in the subject, or absorbs the subject, 
the higher the character of study becomes. It is wonderful 
what can be accomplished by a mind that concentrates 
itself upon a lesson to be learned, and wonderful how 
little time it takes to accomplish a great task. This kind 
of work is intense, absorbing; the worker becomes abnost 



110 The Rural School 

oblivious of surroundings and for the time knows but 
one thing. 

The person who can study in this way does not need 
the usual time in which to get a lesson. A lesson that 
it usually takes an hour to prepare, with this kind of 
study may be gotten in half the time. As a rule, pupils 
spend more time than is necessary in getting a lesson. A 
good deal of the time is spent in dawdling over the lesson 
while the mind is stupid and half awake. Every pupil 
who has tried it knows that he can get a lesson in half the 
usual time. 

Such strenuous study cannot long be sustained. The 
mind tires and must have relaxation. A study of a differ- 
ent nature affords some relief, but exercise in the open 
air is the best restorer of mental energy. All who have 
graded large lists of examination papers know how 
fatiguing the work is, for the monotony of going over the 
same thing time after time induces listlessness and lan- 
guor. The writer once had such a task before him and 
tried the following plan, which worked well. He worked 
as fast and diligently as he could for about an hour on a 
number of papers on one subject, arithmetic for example, 
and then left off grading for ten minutes and walked in 
the open air. Returning to the papers again, he worked 
as vigorously as possible, this time on grammar papers. 
By this plan he thought that he accomplished more in 
a day than where he stayed continuously at the work. 

Motives in Study. — The above suggestions are more 
or less mechanical and may not appeal to the pupil; but 
if a motive for study can be presented to the child, if 
he can see why he is expected to study, or better, if 
he sees the end near at hand for which he is working, 
his efforts will be spontaneous, vigorous and worth 
while. If the little child is making a pretty card or mat 



Teaching Pupils How to Study 111 

for her mother she will work with much more zest than 
if there is no end in view. The child who is learning to 
read so that he may read a story for himself or for an- 
other will find more interest in the reading lesson. 
Motivation is a subject to which the live teacher should 
give special study. A good reference is given at the end 
of the chapter. 

REFERENCES 

Charters, Methods of Teaching {chapters 9, 10, 11). 
1912. Row, Peterson and Company. 

Button, School Managemejit {chapter 13). 1903, 
Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.00. 

Earhart, Teaching Children to Study. 1909. Houghton 
Mifflin Co., 60c. 

Hinsdale, Art of Study {chapter 10). American Book 
Co., $1.00. 

Jones, Principles of Education {chapter 3). 1911. The 
Macmillan Co., $1.00. 

McMurry, How to Study. 1909. Houghton Mifflin 
Co., $1.25. 

Roark, Method in Education {p. 48)- American Book 
Co., $1.00. 



Chapter XII 

PLAY AND PLAYGROUNDS 
THE FUNCTION OF PLAY 

Many have thought, and some doubtless still think, 
that play is a sort of necessary evil. '' Children will play 
and you cannot help it, but it would be much better if 
they did not," has been the opinion held by very many 
" grown-ups." 

A little study will show the fallacy of this position. 
Play is an instinct given the child for its protection or 
good in some way. Some one has said that the only ani- 
mals that can be trained are those animals that play while 
they are young. If this is true, then there must be some 
relation between play and development. Dr. Woods 
Hutchinson, in the Contemporary Review of September, 
1903, says that the child plays through the five stages of 
development of the race, viz , the '' root and grub," the 
''hunting/' the "pastoral," the "agricultural" and the 
" commercial " stages. He thinks when the little child 
is wanting to put everything he gets into his mouth, that 
he is pa;ssing through the root and grub stage — he is 
merely living through that prehistoric period when man 
lived on roots that he dug from the ground. When, 
a little later, he is hiding behind doors to jump out at 
papa or sister, he is passing through the hunting period 
of the race; and so on through the different periods, until 

112 



Play and Playgrounds 113 

he wants to keep store, trade knives, and gather the 
products of many lands and keep them all in his pocket. 
Then he has reached the culmination of his race — the 
commercial stage. Whether or not this theory of Mr. 
Hutchinson's is correct, it suggests to us that the child 
is developed through play, and with this we, as teachers, 
are interested. 

Development of the Body. — We have but to look 
about us to convince ourselves that play has a very im- 
portant use in the developing of the child into manhood. 
Is it not the natural method of educating or training 
human beings for usefulness? The babe in the crib 
begins very early in Hfe to throw out his hands and kick 
his feet, and the more vigorous this activity is the more 
pleased he seems. And all these throws of the hand are 
teaching him to control its movements and find the way 
to his mouth; and all these kicks of his httle feet are 
making his legs strong enough to hold his weight and carry 
his unstable body whither his head directs. So it is not 
hard to believe that play develops the physical being, 
for it gives the child use of his hands and feet; it makes 
more acute his hearing, and sharpens his eyesight; it 
gives him suppleness of the whole body by bringing every 
joint and muscle into use and under his control. 

Development of the Mind. — But play does more than 
develop his body; for, as Dr. Hutchinson says, '^ When 
the child plays it is not merely relaxing itself, getting an 
appetite, getting health; it is literally buildmg and organ- 
izing its body, nay, its brain and mind." He also says, 
" Every sport worth the name develops not merely 
strength, endurance and fleetness, but also alertness, 
quickness of repose, coolness, balance and wariness, 
judgment that is both sound and swift." If there is a 
man running from first base to second and one from second 



114 



The Rural School 




PLAYING DODGE BALL 

to third, in a game of baseball, the shortstop that catches 
a fly ball must decide almost instantly where to throw 
it. An error in judgment may lose the game for his side. 
So it is with many of the games that young people play — 
they require quick and accurate judgment that is of 
practical benefit in after life. Some railroad men were 
talking about an accident that occurred, and they were 
of the opinion that the engineer was unable to bring him- 
self to prompt action and stop his train at an unexpected 
signal, so he wrecked his train and lost his life. Perhaps 
if he had had this experience in games that require im- 
mediate and accurate judgment he could have reversed 
the lever, closed the throttle and saved his train. 

HOW THE SCHOOL SHOULD PROVIDE FOR PLAY 



Love of Freedom. — In every l^uman being there seems 
to be a struggle of the will to be free — a revolt against 
law or restraint. In play, it is simply a sham; but if this 



Play and Playgrounds 



115 




LINE UP FOR A GAME OF MODIFIED FOOTBALL 
Designed for boys below high school grade 



revolt becomes real and against constituted authority, 
it is a crime. This explains why school children are in- 
clined to play pranks. School children, who are under the 
control of a teacher during school time, when recess comes 
break away from the restraints of school discipHne and 
give full freedom to their wills in the outdoor recess. 
Closely directed exercise, such as marching and drills or 
gymnastic exercises, will not take the place of free play. 
At the free recess he can imitate the conventionalities 
of real life, by playing school, by contests of strength and 
fleetness, by mock battles in football, baseball and snow- 
balling. All these and many others are imitations of the 
real transactions of hfe and are entered into with zest 
and perfect freedom. 

Even grown men and women who put themselves under 
restraint and bind themselves down to books and school 
must have their time of relaxation and freedom from this 
restraint. This breaking away is so vigorous and so 
extreme that the authorities are sometimes shocked and 
chagrined. The whole nation of England went from the 
strict, hymn-singing times of Oliver Cromwell to the 
merry, profligate times of Charles II. 



116 The Rural School 

Neither grown people nor children can endure restraint 
all the time; there must be a time of freedom. It is true 
that '^ all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," but 
it is equally true that all play and no work makes Jack 
a profligate boy. There must be equilibrium, and it is 
the place of the school to take account of this and provide 
for both work and play. Other things being equal, the 
school that judiciously provides means and opportunity 
for free play on the schoolground, will get the best work, 
both in kind and quantity. 

In the Normal Bulletin which is sent to the rural 
teachers of Kansas, Mr. Clair Turner of the Physical 
Training Department of the Kansas State Normal School 
has spoken so well on the subject of the recess that by 
permission I am quoting him at length. He says: 

The Recess Gang. — ''Mr. Principal or Superintendent, 
what are you doing for that crowd of boys that collects in 
the corner on the sunny side of the school building at 
recess these fall days? Do you know the theme of the 
conversation there? How about the stories that are told, 
and the plans that are laid for the afternoon's mischief 
in school? If the crowd is a regular one about your school 
building you may as well get out your apple sprouts or 
your suspension blanks, for soon there is bound to be a 
fight, or other disturbance just as bad. Probably al- 
ready there have been complaints by neighbors of stone 
throwing or broken windows, or of young children being 
tormented. 

'' These things can be easily prevented and the gang 
broken up by giving the boys something to do, for boys 
were made to do things, and, if there is not something 
good for them to do, they will do something perhaps not 
so good. Now the boy is naturally interested in gymnas- 
tics and athletics and he has an almost uncontrollable 



Play and Playgrounds 



117 




PLAYING GERMAN BALL 



play instinct. The teacher has a great opportunity to 
take advantage of these play tendencies as a means of 
developing growing muscles as well as growing brains. 
In the fifteen minutes twice a day provided by most 
Kansas schools, the teacher can get better acquainted with 
the pupils under his charge than he is able to do through- 
out the whole year. 

" Upon the playground the teacher can get into the 
real boy world. Here he will often find his dullard a tjrp- 
ical general, and perhaps be shocked to find his favorite 
boy student not even considered in the ' choosing up ' 
for a game. Perhaps, too, he may see the boy who can 
never get up courage enough to make a recitation, dive 
right into a football scrimmage, and another one with 
courage enough in school, who will shamelessly run away 
when there is danger of being * roughed up ' a bit in a 



118 



The Rural School 




A SLIDE ON A RURAL PLAYGROUND 



game. So the teacher who would really know his pupils 
and prevent the rising of the mob spirit must be with them 
at play and direct them in their games. 

" The recess instead of being a period of aimless loafing 
should be entirely devoted to pleasurable physical ac- 
tivity that would increase circulation, oxygenize the 
blood, make sound muscles, give rehef from sitting and 



Play and Playgrounds 



119 




A COMBINATION APPARATUS 
Ladder, rings, slide and two swings all in one 



stooping postures and at the same time develop courage, 
self-reliance and loyalty for team and school. 

Playground Apparatus. — " Gymnastic apparatus upon 
the playground can be made very interesting, and there 
are many kinds that can be provided by the boys them- 
selves at very Httle expense. One thing that never fails 
to attract is a jumping pit made by digging a hole one 
foot deep and six feet wide and say ten or twelve feet 
long. Fill this pit with builder's sand, and you have an 
excellent landing place for broad and high jumping, as well 
as for pole vaulting and even tumbling. 

" Another piece of playground apparatus easily made is 
a German horse. Get a log about sixteen inches in diam- 
eter and about six feet long. Set it upon four legs so that 
it will furnish a back about three feet from the ground. 
Get the blacksmith to make two grips or pommels of iron 



120 



The Rural School 



1/7^ 

i / / 

^ y/ 





A COMBINATION OF SWINGS AND TEETER BOARDS 



that can be placed transversely on the log, one about where 
a saddle horn would be and the other where the back 
rim of the saddle would come. Make these large enough 
to grasp easily when bolted through the horse. Now make 
a jumping pit at one side of the horse, and you have a piece 
of apparatus that will provide a great variety of exercises 
that children will enjoy. 

" A horizontal bar can be easily made with six feet of 
two-inch gas pipe and a couple of poles for uprights. 
This bar should be high enough to allow the average boy 
to swing under it with arms and body at full length and 
should have a jumping pit under it extending at least six 
feet each way from under the bar. A low horizontal bar 
can be made similar to the high one. It should be about 
three feet from the ground." This will provide for the 
smaller children. 




A giant's stride 
[121] 



122 The Rural School 

What can be done in the way of equipping a school 
playground is graphically shown at Ellis, Kansas. The 
equipment is simple and inexpensive, yet well adapted 
to the purpose. There are swings for the boys and 
swings for the girls, a '^ teeter-totter," a tennis court, 
a baseball diamond, oblique ladder, turning poles, 
giant's stride and vaulting poles. Besides these there 
are seven sets of horseshoes, one set of boxing gloves, 
several sets of jumping weights, hammer shot, and a 
twenty-foot climbing rope. All these things were bought 
and paid for by the pupils and teachers of the school. 
Not a cent came from the treasury. This apparatus is 
used. I was surprised in examining the swings to find 
the ground worn out about a foot deep under each swing, 
showing that they had been extensively used. The prin- 
cipal told me that when everything else was out of 
use the giant's stride was still going. 

Do you see how to make a giant's stride? 

It is just an old wagon wheel and spindle on the top 
of a good pole firmly set in the ground, and ropes or 
chains from the rim. All the other apparatus is simple 
in construction, but answers every purpose. If to this 
were added a sand pile and some blocks from a carpenter 
shop for the benefit of the little people, you would have 
a very complete equipment. 

The principal thinks that the effort he has put upon 
the playgrounds has materially aided the school, not only 
in the attendance, but also in discipline and the quality 
of the work done in the classroom. Since the playgrounds 
have been thus equipped there has been little or no need 
of punishment. There have been very few failures in the 
grades and lower classes of the high school, and none in 
the higher classes, and the school is well represented in the 
University and other institutions of the state. 



Play and Playgrounds 



123 







SKINNING THE SNAKE 



Apparatus for Rural Schools. — The teacher of a rural 
school may think that these things are all right for a 
village or city school, but that they cannot be had in a 
country school. While it is true, perhaps, that not all 
these things may be obtained for a rural school, yet what 
is needed may be secured. The teacher can have some 
of them, if he wants them and is willing to put forth an 
honest effort to get them. It will depend very much 
upon the school what can be gotten and what is needed. 
If there is a number of large girls in school, a basket ball 
equipment is good. If little people predominate, a swing 
and a sand pile are perhaps all that is needed. What 
should be gotten will depend very much upon the school 
and surroundings. 

Games and Plays. — But if equipment for a playground 
cannot be gotten, a book of school games and plays can 
be put into the library and the children taught new games 



124 The Rural School 

when the old ones wear out. There are plenty of games 
that do not require any equipment, and that will keep the 
children interested on the playground. Many good ones 
may be found in the books listed below. 

Remember that games and plays educate as well as 
develop the body, and that they are a part of every good 
school. 

REFERENCES 

Angell, Play. 1910. Little, Brown & Co., $1.50. 

Bancroft, Games for the Playground^ Home, School and 
Gymnasium. 1909. The Macmillan Co., $1.50. 

Hetherington, Fundamental Education. N. E. A. Pro- 
ceedings, 1910. 

Johnson, Education by Plays and Games. 1907. Ginn 
& Co., School ed., 90c. 

Jones, Principles of Education {chapter 4)- 1911. The 
Macmillan Co., $1.00. 

Perry, Wider Use of the School Plant {p. 149). 1910. 
(Russell Sage Foundation Publications.) Survey Asso- 
ciates, Inc., N. Y., $1.25. 

Playground Association of America, Proceedings and 
Publications. New York. 



Chapter XIH 
THE LIBRARY AND ITS USES 

Importance. — Every school that is without a Hbrary 
is placed at a disadvantage. One of the great objects of 
the school is to acquaint the pupils with good books, and 
to give them ability to use them. If in his school days a 
pupil comes into contact with his textbooks only, his 
opportunity is dwarfed and the school is doing only part 
of what it should do for him. Why does the child spend 
so much time in learning to read unless he is going to use 
this ability in reading? And will he not take more interest 
in learning to read if he sees that it is all for a purpose, 
namely, to read something for his own gratification and 
pleasure. 

Then, the textbook is written with a definite object in 
view, and much that is of interest to the child must be 
sacrificed in order to accomphsh this object. For example, 
the readers must be graded so that the pupil will be led 
step by step into the art of reading. No complete long 
story can be given, no poem of any length can be inserted, 
no complete biography can be used. Just snatches of 
the best are given, and the teacher is supposed to lead 
the pupils to an interest in literature from these bits of 
the great masterpieces. 

What is true of literature is true of history. Only a 
small part of what is known of our country can be put into 

125 



126 The Rural School 

one textbook. There should be other histories in the 
school for those whose interest may lead them to fur- 
ther reading. 

Thus it is with almost every study. The school text- 
book merely gives the pupil a start in the subject, and 
the school should provide means for advancement, or, 
better still, encourage advancement into broader fields 
along the lines wherein the pupil shows ability. 

ACQUIRING A LIBRARY 

How to Start a Library. — In assembling a hbrary, do 
not ask for general contributions from the patrons of the 
school. One will feel obliged to accept all the books that 
come, and in doing this he will probably receive the 
rubbish of the neighborhood. Not many people are 
willing to give away their best books, but will freely part 
with those for which they do not care to provide room 
any longer. Then, too, one will get some books that are 
worse than useless to the school. In this way the shelves 
can be filled up, but the hbrary will be useless, to say the 
least. As a rule, buy books outright from a list that has 
been carefully selected by competent judges. 

Of course, if there is a library fund or if a library tax can 
be levied, this is the best way to get the money. Many 
teachers have started a library by giving an entertain- 
ment of some kind and charging a small fee. This ac- 
complishes two things, it secures the money and interests 
the patrons and school in the enterprise. Often when a 
library is once started, it will be maintained and built 
up by district funds. 

Traveling Libraries. — Thirty or more states have 
traveling hbraries. These are managed by commissions 
or boards and are maintained in many instances at state 



I 



The Library and Its Uses 127 

expense. The thing of interest to the rural teacher who is 
without a Hbrary, however, is that one may be had at a 
very nominal expense. Usually this is the cost of trans- 
portation to and from the depository. A letter of inquiry 
to your state librarian, or secretary of the library com- 
mission, will bring needed information. In case these 
are not known, make inquiry of your state superintendent. 
No school need be without a small library. From the 
traveling library at a cost of two or three dollars, a list of 
fifty or more books may be had for the school term. Some- 
times a teacher has the opportunity to choose such books 
as he desires for his school. A little extra enthusiasm and 
a bit of hard work will raise the money. 

WHAT TO BUY 

How to Use and What to Buy. — How to use often 
depends on what there is to be bought, and what to buy, 
on how the books are to be used. In purchasing books for 
a library, some teachers, and others also, are impressed 
with the idea of " getting a library.'' This is a vague im- 
pression of books, and almost any book will help to make 
this library. The picture of a number of books is clearly 
outlined but quality and usefulness do not enter into 
its make-up, so the object is often to get the greatest 
possible number of showy books. This is akin to receiv- 
ing collections from the neighborhood; it fills up the 
shelves but does not provide a library that can be used. 
Agents try to sell sets of books. They look well and are 
all right, providing there is unlimited means with which 
to build up a library. 

A Working Library. — What a school needs first is a 
number of books that a teacher can use in the every-day 
work of the school. 



128 The Rural School 

This may be called a working library. Often, in buy- 
ing the first books for a library, the teacher thinks he 
must buy books for general reading, such as would be 
called a circulating library. But a better way is to buy 
books for use in the school. A few copies of Florence 
Bass' " Lessons for Beginners " make an excellent choice 
for the teacher who expects to teach beginners reading 
by the object method. Miss Bass begins with plants, — 
things with which children in the country are acquainted 
— the very place to begin so that the object may be 
brought into the room and the teacher may proceed from 
the known to the unknown, presenting first the object, 
then the spoken word and then the written word. A 
teacher might well afford to buy some such set out of 
his own earnings if they could not be gotten for the 
library in any other way. 

There should be duplicate copies of first and second 
readers to be used as supplementary readers. Often the 
teacher will want to use them for sight reading. Then he 
will keep the books in his own possession and give them 
to the class only at the recitation period. No study is 
supposed to be given to such lessons; they are intended 
to give skill in reading new matter. The " Mother 
Goose Reader " is an excellent book for this purpose. 
It is suited for about the first or second grade. Enough 
copies of this book to supply an average class in school 
should be included in the first order. Then there should 
be a number of books for nature study and books of cul- 
tural value. There are many excellent books from which 
to make this selection. 

A working library will furnish books for the little people 
so that they may read as soon as they have acquired the 
ability. '' Child Life," a first reader published by Mac- 
millan, is a good book for this purpose. Some that are 



4 



The Library and Its Uses 129 

a little too difficult for the pupils to read may be read by 
the teacher and the stories used for language work and 
ethical instruction. Perhaps " Sleepy-time Stories/' 
published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, will suit most teachers 
for this purpose. 

Again, there should be some books on agriculture, in 
order that the boys may be led to read along this line. 
There are many good books being put upon the market 
each year, and much good information can be obtained 
from them. '' Farm Life Readers/' published by Silver, 
Burdett and Company, is a series which will commend 
itself to the rural teacher. Then, too, the writing of a 
postal card will bring valuable information from the 
Agricultural Department at Washington or from the 
Agricultural College regarding bulletins and reports. 
Many of these can be had for the asking. 

No field of school literature is richer with excellent 
helps than geography. There are a great number of 
sets of geography helps, each covering .almost the whole 
field, and no school library is complete without a number 
of these books. They furnish the material for making 
geography the most interesting subject in school instead 
of the dryest. By the use of such books the subject may 
be niade more useful and more practical. 

Of course, there should be books on history to supple- 
ment the text used, but it is of equal, or perhaps greater, 
value that a number of history stories and biographies 
be furnished the young to lead them to the desire for 
reading history. 

A library would not be complete without a few books 
for general reading. A good many boys and girls have no 
taste for reading. For this reason some books of a light 
nature — not love stories — should be among the first 
on this list. 



130 The Rural School 

USING THE LIBRARY 

Preparing a Place for the Library. — Even before the 
library has been purchased, some thought ought to be 
given to how to preserve it. As soon as it has been de- 
termined that books will be bought for the school, " Where 
shall the books be kept? '' is a pertinent question. If 
there is money enough, with the first order a case should 
be purchased. This is taking for granted that a bookcase 
was not built into the house when it was first erected. 
If the amount of money is small and the need of books 
is great, as is usually the case, no embarrassment need 
be felt, for a small box fitted with a few shelves and deep 
enough to receive the books, may be nailed to the wall, 
and will answer every purpose. If some one can be in- 
duced to make a door for it, the cost of the hinges and 
lock will be all the necessary expense, unless it is for a 
little paint. If no door can be had, the teacher or one of 
the older girls can make a curtain that will cover up the 
rough exterior and protect the books from dust. 

How to Use a Library. — It is sometimes hard to 
interest boys and girls in good books and get them to 
read for themselves. The following way has been sug- 
gested by a teacher of long experience in the teaching of 
literature: Let the teacher read to the school an inter- 
esting chapter from a book and then place it on the shelves. 
Interest will thus be aroused and pupils wih be asking for 
more from that book. The teacher will say, ■" You may 
take the book and read it for yourself, if you like." Do 
not suggest that pupils read it, but let them come to the 
teacher first. 

Another plan is to go through the geography somewhat 
in advance of the class to see what aid is needed and what 
can be found in the geography helps. Suppose the lesson 



The Library and Its Uses 131 

is about China, and there is in the hbrary, '' Stories of 

China," by Miss Pratt. When something of interest 

is found in this book some such note as the following in 

light pencil may be made on the margin of the geography: 

" See 'Stories of China/ page 40." There will usually be 

found in the class some one who can get his lesson and 

have time to play. Ask this one to look up what is on page 

40 in " Stories of China " and tell it to the class. This 

accompHshes two things, — something additional and 

interesting has been given to the class, and the bright 

pupil has been given something to do to keep him out of 

mischief. This plan can be used in other subjects also. 

Those pupils who are easily stronger than the other 

members of the class and who have proved themselves 

such in their recitations may be given permission to use 

the library after they have their lessons prepared. In 

some of the Denver schools this plan is used to equalize 

the work of the dull and bright pupils in a grade. A few 

books are kept in the room, and pupils may read or study 

along the line of their choice, even during the time of the 

recitation, providing they hold themselves in readiness 

to be called upon at any time to answer a question in 

the recitation that other members of the class cannot 

answer. If they are unable to answer the question, they 

lose their privilege until they prove themselves again in 

the recitation. It is not necessary to have a large library 

in order to carry out this plan. One book on the teacher's 

desk is enough to start it in a school and furnish profitable 

employment for a bright pupil and save a teacher trouble 

and worry. 

Extended Use of Library. — The library movement is 
not selfish in its spirit, but rather philanthropic. The use 
of a small library in a district school should not be con- 
fined to the school alone, but should extend to all the 



132 The Rural School 

district whenever and wherever there is opportunity. 
As the library grows, the needs of the patrons and tax- 
payers should be recognized in the selection of books and 
magazines. The school should strive to uplift the com- 
munity, and the library may be its most potent instrument. 
The school library might be the medium of exchange for 
farmers' bulletins, papers, and books on farming, poultry 
raising, dairying, household economy, home sanitation, 
and so on. 

Librarian. — While school is in session the teacher 
should act as librarian, during vacation the clerk or 
some other member of the board. A strict account should 
be kept of every book that goes out of the room. Books 
should be returned at the end of two weeks or renewed, 
and due appreciation and regard for the books must be 
required of all. Nothing destroys the usefulness of a 
library sooner than to allow the books to be misused. 
Children should early be taught to love and care for 
a good book. 

SUGGESTED PLAN OF ORGANIZATION FOR SMALL 
SCHOOL LIBRARY 

(One hundred volumes or less) 

Compiled by Willis H. Kerr, Librarian, Kansas State 
Normal School, Emporia, Kansas 

Minimum organization: 

A. Permanent record book (called Accession book), 

B. Property stamp. 

C. Record of issue. 

A. Permanent Record of all books in the library: 

Headings extend over two opposite pages, thus: 

(Left-hand page) 

No. Date Vol. Author Title 

(Right-hand page) 

Place Publisher Year Source Cost Remarks 



The Library and Its Uses 133 

Such a book may be purchased already ruled from 
Library Bureau, 37 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, 111. Ask 
for Condensed Accession Book No. 1059, price 
$1.10 postpaid. 

Explanation of above headings: 

1. No. — Lines numbered consecutively 1, 2, 3, etc. 

2. Date — Date of invoice. 

3. Vol. — Give volume number if a work is in more 
than one volume. Never enter more than one volume 
on a line. 

4. Author — Last name, followed by initials. 

5. Title — Short title. 

6. Place — City where published. 

7. Publisher — First company mentioned on title 
page. For example: Ginn, Macmillan, Scribner, Wiley. 

8. Year — Date given at bottom of title page. If 
none, use last copyright date, given on back of title page. 

9. Source — Bookseller from whom purchased, or 
name of donor. 

10.. Cost — Actual cost to school. If a gift, mark '' g " 
in this column. 

11. Remarks — Used chiefly to show when book is 
worn out, lost, withdrawn for contagion, etc. 

12. In accession books on the market, other headings 
are given and should be used by librarians of larger 
libraries. 

As soon as books are received, enter each on a line 
of the accession book, and put the number of the line 
(accession number) in the volume received, at the bot- 
tom of the first right-hand page after title page; write 
it in bold clear figures with ink. This number is called 
the accession number of the book. 

B. Property mark: 

This identifies your book when it is out of the school- 
room, and is indispensable even in the smallest library. 
A rubber stamp is the cheapest form. A good style is 
small Gothic lettering, reading thus, for example: 



134 



The Rural School 



Oak Hill School Library 

Clay County, Kansas 
District 37. No. 

Rubber stamps may be secured from any dealer in rubber 
stamps at a cost of forty or fifty cents. 

Stamp the title page of every volume, the inside of the 
front cover, and also a certain arbitrary page (say, 21) 
of each volume. 

Inventory, or take stock of the books each autumn 
when school opens. With the accession book in hand, go 
carefully through the shelves and note in the Remarks 

column, " Not found, Sept. ," for every volume 

missing. (Use pencil for these remarks, erasing note 
when book is found.) Make list of missing volumes for 
your own record, and report it to the School Board. 

C. Record of Issue: 

Have on your desk slips of paper about 3 by 5 inches 
in size, and for each book given out write the accession 
number, the name of the person who takes it home, and 
the date. Keep these slips in an envelope marked " Books 
out." When a book is brought back, find and destroy 
the slip. Insist that all books be returned before last 
day of school. 

This form of slip is suggested as about the simplest 
that can be devised. If these are kept alphabetically 
arranged any name may easily be found. By twisting 
the cards one way the number of a book may be seen, by 
twisting them the other way, the dates will appear and 
books due will be found. 



No. 


365. 


Snyder, Walter. 




11/27/12. Date. 





The Library and Its Uses 135 

The following list is only suggestive of the different 
classes of books which are suited for a rural school li- 
brary. When this list is exhausted and the library has 
grown beyond the limits of a small rural school library, 
other sources of information should be sought regarding 
selection of books and organization. 

A WORKING LIBRARY FOR COUNTRY SCHOOLS 

Compiled by Miss G. M. Leaf, Reference Librarian, 
Kansas State Normal School, Emporia, Kansas 

(The grades for which each book is suitable are in- 
dicated.) 

Reference Books 

Adams, C. C, Textbook of Commercial Geography, 
D. Appleton & Co., $1.30. 

Appleton's Encyclopedia. 6 vols.' D. Appleton & Co., 
$18.00. (May be bought of dealers for $9.75.) 

Gay ley, CM., Classic Myths in English Literature, 
Revised. Ginn & Co., $1.50. 

New Family Atlas of the World. Rand, McNally & Co., 
$1.00. 

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. G. & C. Merriam Co., 
$3.00. 

Bible Stories 

Bible for Young People; arranged from the King 
James version by Mrs. J. B. Gilder. New ed. Century 
Co., $1.50. (4-6.) 

Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress. (Riverside sch. ed.) 
Houghton Mifflin Co., 60c. (7-8.) 



136 The Rural School 

Heermans, Stories from the Hebrew. Silver, Burdett & 
Co., 42c. (4-5.) 

Proudfoot, Child's Tales. A. Flanagan & Co., 75c. 
(3-5.) 

Easy Reading for the Youngest Readers 

Andersen, Fairy Tales, ed. by Turpin. Small, May- 
nard & Co., 40c. 

Baldwin, Fairy Stories and Fables. American Book Co., 
35c. 

Bass, Nature Stories for Young Readers. 2 vols. D. C. 
Heath & Co., 70c. 

Grimm and Grimm, Fairy Tales, ed. by Wiltse. 2 
vols. Ginn & Co., 70c. 

Grover, Overall Boys. Rand, McNally & Co., 38c. 

Grover, Sunbonnet Babies' Primer. Rand, McNally & 
Co., 40c. 

Lindsay, Mother Stories. Milton Bradley Co., $1.00. 

Mickens and Robinson, The Mother Goose Reader. 
Silver, Burdett & Co., 36c. 

O'Shea, Six Nursery Classics. (Home and School 
Library.) D. C. Heath & Co., 20c. 

Perrault, Tales of Mother Goose, tr. by Welsh. D. C. 
Heath & Co., 20c. 

Potter, Beatrix, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Frederick 
Warne & Co., 50c. 

Progressive Road to Reading, Book 1. Silver, Burdett & 
Co., 32c. 

Progressive Road to Reading, Book 2. Silver, Burdett & 
Co., 40c. 

Scudder, H. E. ed., Book of Fables and Folk Stories. 
(Riverside Literature Series.) Houghton Mifflin Co., 
40c. 

Serl, In Fable Land. Silver, Burdett & Co., 45c. 



The Library and Its Uses 137 

Myths, Legends, and Fairy Tales 

Baldwin, Story of Siegfried (Heroes of Olden Times) 
Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.50. (5-7.) 

Brown, In the Days of Giants: a Book of Norse Myths. 
(Riverside Literature Series.) Houghton Mifflin Co., 
50c. (4-5.) 

Hawthorne, Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales. 
(Riverside Literature Series.) Houghton Mifflin Co., 
40c. (6-9.) 

Pyle, Some Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. (School 
Readings.) Charles Scribner's Sons, 50c. (6-8.) 

Ruskin, King of the Golden River. Rand, McNally & Co., 
25c. (4-6.) 

Zitkala-Sa, Old Indian Legends. Girni & Co., 50c. 
(5-7.) 

Nature 

Andrews, Stories Mother Nature Told her Children. 
Ginn & Co., 50c. (3-5.) 

Brown, Plant Baby. Silver, Burdett & Co., 48c. (4.) 

Burroughs, Birds and Bees. Houghton Mifflin Co., 
60c. (7-8.) 

Dana, Plants and Their Children. American Book Co., 
65c. (4-5.) 

Kirby, Mary and Elizabeth, Aunt Martha's Corner 
Cupboard. Educational Pubhshing Co., 40c. (3-5.) 

Miller, First Book of Birds. Houghton Mifflin Co., 
60c. (5-8.) 

Poulsson, In the Child's World. Milton Bradley Co., 
$2.00. (1-3.) 

Poulsson, Through the Farm Yard Gate. Lothrop, Lee 
& Shepard Co., $1.25. (1-2.) 



138 The Rural School 

Saunders, Beautiful Joe. American Baptist Publication 
Society, 60c. (4-6.) 

Serl, In the Animal World. Silver, Burdett & Co., 
50c. (4-6.) 

Willis and Farmer, Month hy Month. 3 vols. Kellogg, 
$4.00. 

Agriculture 

Burkett, Stevens and Hill, Agriculture for Beginners. 
Ginn & Co., 75c. 

Duncan, Evans and Duncan, Farm Life Readers. 
Bks. 4 & 5. Silver, Burdett & Co., 45 & 50c. 

Goodrich, O. L., First Book of Farming. Doubleday, 
Page & Co., $1.00. 

Jackson and Daugherty, Agriculture through Labora- 
tory and School Garden. Orange Judd Co., $1.50. 

Kansas Agricultural College, Bulletins. 

Kern, Among Country Schools. Ginn & Co., $1.25. 

King, Textbook of the Physics of Agriculture. F. H. 
King, $1.75. 

McKeever, Farm Boys and Girls. The Macmillan Co., 
$1.35. 

Sargent, Corn Plants, their Uses and Ways of Life. 
Houghton Mifflin Co., 75c. 

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletins. 

Amusements and Occupations 

Adams, Harper's Indoor Book for Boys. Harper & Bros., 
$175. (7-8.) 

Adams, Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys. Harper & 
Bros., $1.75. (7-8.) 

Alexander, Songs We Like to Sing. Silver, Burdett & 
Co., 35c. (7-8.) 



The Library and Its Uses 139 

Bacon, Songs That Every Child Should Know. Double- 
day, Page & Co., 90c. (7-8.) 

Baker, Boy's Book of Inventions. Doubleday, Page & 
Co., 12.00. (7-9.) 

Barnard, Tools and Machines. Silver, Burdett & Co., 
60c. (5-6.) 

Bancroft, Games for Playgrounds, Home and School. 
The Macmillan Co., $1.50. (6-7.) 

Benton, C. F., pseud., Saturday Mornings. Dana Estes 
& Co., 75c. (5-7.) 

Literature 

Lamb, Charles and Mary, Tales from Shakespeare. 
(Riverside Literature Series.) Houghton Mifflin Co., 
50c. (6-8.) 

Norton, Heart of Oak Books. Vols. 1-2. D. C. Heath 
& Co., 60c. (1-2.) 

Stevenson, Child's Garden of Verses. Rand, McNally & 
Co., 50c, (2-4.) 

Wiggin and Smith, Posy Ring. McClure Co., $1.25. 
(5-6.) 

Geography Aids 

Andrews, Jane, Seven Little Sisters. Ginn & Co., 50c. 
(2-4.) 

Ayrton, Child Life in Japan. (Home and School 
Classics.) D. C. Heath & Co., 20c. (5-6.) 

Carpenter, Geographical Readers. 6 vols. American 
Book Co., 60c each. (5-8.) 

Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South 
America. 

Carroll, Around the World Series. 5 vols. Silver, Bur- 
dett & Co., each 36c. (1-6.) 



140 The Rural School 

Chamberlain, How We Travel. (Home and World 
Series.) The Macmillan Co., 40c. (4-6.) 

Chance, Little Folks of Many Lands. Ginn & Co., 50c. 

(1-2.) 

Dunton, World and Its People Series. 12 vols. Silver, 
Burdett & Co., 36 to 60c. (2-8.) 

Little Journeys, ed. by M. M. George. 10 vols. A. 
Flanagan Co., 50c each. 

Alaska and Canada; Cuba and Porto Rico; France and 
Switzerland; Germany; Holland and Belgium; Mexico 
and Central America; Norway and Sweden; Russia 
and Austria; Turkey; The Balkans and Greece. 
Long, Home Geography. American Book Co., 25c. 
Our Little Cousin Series. 11 vols. L. C. Page & Co., 
60c each. (3-4.) 

Alaska; Australia; Chinese; Cuban; Greek; German; 
Italian; Panama; Philippines; Spanish; Swedish. 
Peeps at Many Lands. 16 vols. The Macmillan Co., 
50c each. (8-9.) 

Burma; China; Egypt; England; Germany; Greece; 
Holland; Scotland; Switzerland; Holy Land; Ice- 
land; India; Italy; Japan; Morocco; Norway. 
Shaw, Big People and Little People of Other Lands. 
(Eclectic Readings.) American Book Co., 30c. (3-4.) 
Starr, Strange Peoples. (Ethno-geographical Readers.) 
D. C. Heath & Co., 40c. (5-7.) 



History and Biography 

Andrews, A Perfect Tribute. Charles Scribner's Sons, 
50c. (6-8.) 

Baldwin, Fifty Famous Stories Retold. (Eclectic Read- 
ings.) American Book Co., 35c. (3-5.) 



The Library and Its Uses 141 

Blaisdell and Ball, Hero Stories from American History. 
Ginn & Co., 50c. (5-7.) 

Eggleston, Stories of American Life and Adventure. 
(Eclectic Readings.) American Book Co., 50c. (3-5.) 

Eggleston, Stories of Great Americans for Little Ameri- 
cans. American Book Co., 40c. (3-5.) 

Hazard, Indians and Pioneers. Silver, Burdett & Co., 
45c. (5-6.) 

Mowry, Hero Series. American Pioneers, 65c (5-7); 
American Heroes and Heroism, 60c (5-6). Silver, Bur- 
dett & Co., 

Newell, Indian Stories. Silver, Burdett & Co., 45c. 
(5-6.) 

Starr, American Indians. (Ethno.-geog. Readers.) 
D. C. Heath & Co., 45c. (5-8.) 

Stone and Fickett, Everyday Life in the Colonies. 
D. C. Heath & Co., 35c. (4-6.) 

Tappan, European Hero Stories. Houghton Mifflin Co., 
65c. (6-8.) 

Stories 

Alcott, Little Women. Little, Brown & Co., $1.50. 

(5-7.) 

Defoe, Robinson Crusoe. (Riverside School Library.) 
Houghton Mifflin Co., 60c. (6-8.) 

Dodge, Han^ Brinker. Charles Scribner's Sons, 75c. 
(5-8.) 

Eggleston, Hoosier School-Boy. Charles Scribner's Sons, 
60c. (6-8.) 

Hale, Man without a Country. (National edition.) 
Little, Brown & Co., 35c. (6-8.) 

Spyri, Heidi. (Home and School Library.) Ginn & Co., 
40c. (4-5.) 



,142 The Rural School 

Swift, Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Regions 
of the World. (Home and School Classics.) D. C. Heath 
& Co., 30c. (6-8.) 

Westover, Bushy. Silver, Burdett & Co., 75c. (6-7.) 

Wiggin, Bird's Christmas Carol. Houghton Mifflin Co., 
50c. (5-8.) 

Wyss, Swiss Family Robinson. (Home and School Li- 
brary.) Ginn & Co., 45c. (5-7.) 

Zollinger, Widow O'Callaghan's Boys. A. C. McClurg & 
Co., $1.25. 

REFERENCES 

Bulletins may be obtained from the library commis- 
sions of the different states or from the state department 
of education. These often contain graded lists of books 
from which selections may be made; they also give help- 
ful hints about the choice, care, and use of books. The 
following are good: 

Brown and Webster, Buying Lists of Books for Small 
Libraries. 1913. American Library Association Pub- 
lishing Board, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago, 111., 15c. 

Ely, Library Aids for Teachers, State Normal School, 
Duluth, Minn., 15c. 

New York Education Department, Division of School 
Libraries. An annotated, graded, and classified list of 
books suitable for elementary school libraries (Bulletin, 
Feb., 1912), Albany, N. Y. 

Walter (of N. Y. State Library), The Care of School 
Libraries. Printed by Michigan State Board of 
Library Commissioners, Lansing, Mich. 



Chapter XIV 
SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 

Its Importance. — If it were asked, " In what espe- 
cially do teachers fail? " the answer would be, '' In school 
government." It may very easily be detected, for the 
children report it to their parents, the board members 
soon find it out, and it is apparent to the superintendent 
the moment he steps into the room. The teacher may be 
making a failure of instruction, but if he keeps " good 
order" the children cannot determine whether the in- 
struction is good, bad or indifferent, and the superintend- 
ent may not, in his short visit, at once discover that the 
teaching is of poor quality. 

Thus it is that school government becomes a very im- 
portant subject to every teacher. If a teacher cannot 
govern a school he must move on from place to place, 
not rising in the profession but merely eking out an ex- 
istence. Then, too, quiet and order are very important 
features of the school itself. A schoolroom should be 
a place for study, and a pupil has a right to a place 
where he can study without serious interruption. Then 
again, boys and girls need to learn at school what many 
of them do not learn at home, viz., to be obedient to 
law. They need to learn obedience, system, punctual- 
ity, orderliness and respect to superiors, and many of 
them will learn this, if at all, only in a well-governed 
school. 

143 



144 The Rural School 

AIDS TO SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 

Since school government is of such importance, if the 
State Normal School could instruct the teachers of its 
state how to govern successfully, it would pay to dismiss 
the schools for a year and have all the teachers study school 
government. But the truth is, each teacher must govern 
his school in his own way, and the school which he teaches 
may require quite a different form of government from 
the school in an adjoining district. A teacher's person- 
ality must enter into all his school work, and especially 
into his school government. 

While it may not be possible to tell just how to govern 
a school, it is hoped that some things may be said that 
will set teachers to thinking, and that will help them 
better to help themselves. 

It has been said that the best governed school is the 
one that is least governed. It is hoped that the few sug- 
gestions which are given in this chapter will aid the young 
teacher in making the school self-governing. 

Plans for Each Day Necessary. — If the teacher will 
plan his work from day to day and know just what he 
expects to do and how he is to do it, it will greatly aid him 
in the management of his school. Something may arise 
to hinder what he has outlined for the day, but it will 
be much easier to make some minor changes in his plans 
than to think them out as the work of the school 
progresses. 

Lessons Well Studied. — Closely allied to the first 
suggestion, if not a part of it, is preparation of the lessons 
for the day. They should be well planned and well 
studied. Many a school has become disorderly while the 
teacher was vainly trying to work a problem for the class 
in arithmetic, or while he studied out the analysis of a 



School Government 145 

difficult sentence that he did not know was in the lesson. 
Disrespect is almost always engendered for the teacher 
who does not know. Sham knowing will not suffice; it 
is better to say, '' I do not know," but this should not be 
said too often. 

Definiteness in Assignments and Requirements. — 
Sometimes a lesson is not learned because the pupils do 
not know just what they are expected to do. "Take 
the next page '' can seldom be deemed an assignment. 
Especially with small pupils the teacher should be very 
definite about what is to be learned and how to study it. 
This means more time for this part of the work, but it 
means better work on the part of the pupils and less 
annoyance for the teacher while hearing another class. 
Then, too, the pupils do not know just what is expected 
of them in passing to and from class, or what is meant by 
some regulation for the play at recess and noons. The 
pupils sometimes try to take advantage of an ambiguous 
regulation, as is illustrated by the following: Some boys 
and girls were accustomed to go to one of two hills to 
coast during intermission, and were always late. The 
teacher told them that they should not go to that hill 
any more, for it made them late getting in. They did not 
go to that one, but went to the farther one and were late 
as usual. 

Showing Reasonableness of Requirements. — A young 
boy is more willing to obey when he knows the reason 
why. It is a good thing for the teacher to explain the 
reasonableness of regulations, for it will restrain him from 
making arbitrary rules. It also makes the pupils feel 
that they are consulted in affairs of the school, and, to 
some extent, cooperate in the managing of the school. 

Keeping Every one Busy. — If one can keep the school 
busy, he will not need to do much governing. This is 



146 The Rural School 

where our modern schools are an improvement over the 
old-time school, where the rod was such an important 
factor. One good way to keep everybody busy is to make 
out a program of studies for each class; then pupil and 
teacher both know just what is to be done. When this 
is well understood, before beginning a recitation, the 
teacher should see that each one is busy at his own task. 

It will pay to become enthusiastic about work. Let 
the teacher work himself, and get others to work from 
the very first hour of the first day to the last hour of the 
last day of school. This is one of the secrets of good school 
teaching. Use it for all it is worth. 

Making Use of School Games and Plays. — There is a 
certain amount of motor energy that becomes stored up 
in the body during the study periods that must be worked 
off. If confined too long, like dammed-up water, it will 
finally break its bounds. Good, vigorous plays and games 
are helpful for every school, and it will pay the teacher 
to be able to step in and give suggestions about new games 
when the old ones are worn out or when the rivalry be- 
comes too strenuous. Vigorous play, outdoors, often 
saves annoying tricks during school hours. The teacher's 
interest in the school play often elicits the pupils' coopera- 
tion in the work of the schoolroom. 

But never let disorder reign in the house, either at recess 
or during school time. Unrestrained conduct in the house 
at recess leads to noise and confusion during the school 
period. Play in the house during stormy weather should 
be under the direction of the teacher. The schoolroom 
should be sacred to study. 

Personality of the Teacher. — Of all the aids to school 
government mentioned above, none is so important and 
so effective as the personality of the teacher. To com- 
mand and receive obedience seems almost natural to 



School Government 147 

some; to others this power is obtained only with great 
effort. For one, his very presence seems to command 
respect and obedience; for another, even his looks seem 
to be against him and to cause disrespect. The former 
class seem to be a favored few, but if what we learned in a 
previous chapter be true, then each one can keep his 
personality at its best and improve it as time goes on. 
If we would care for our health, we must keep our body 
at its best; if we would add something new and enliven- 
ing to our mental store, if we would cultivate our moral 
natures, we must live up to the best that is in us; in 
other words, if we would be our best in our three-fold 
nature, our personality would grow and we would com- 
mand the respect of those with whom we associate. If 
the teacher's personality is what it ought to be, it will 
show itself in neatness of dress, and in personal appear- 
ance. The voice should be cultivated; a sharp, rasping, 
high-keyed voice will unnerve a whole school and will 
lead to disorder and noise. 

THE INFLICTION OF PUNISHMENTS 

A Time for Action. — All the above suggestions may be 
followed out almost religiously, and yet in some schools 
and under some conditions things will not go right. There 
will come a time when something must be done. This 
may be the making of a rule and the infliction of the pen- 
alty; or it may. be the infliction of corporal punish- 
ment. Here are found two classes of teachers: One 
becomes frightened, begins to tremble and never reaches 
the point of actually inflicting punishment; the other is 
in a hurry and reaches the punishment before it is neces- 
sary. The latter are the ones who whip on slight provo- 
cation, forgetting the principle that " the least punish- 



148 The Rural School 

ment that will accomplish the end is the right punish- 
ment. '* Punishments of all kinds should be incentives 
of last resort, and especially should this be true in the 
case of corporal punishment. 

The End of Discipline, Character. — In all school 
government, in all discipline, in all punishment, the 
teacher should keep in mind that it is for the good of the 
pupil. It is not for the school, nor for the community, 
nor for the state, but for the individual pupil. He is 
interested in building character, and if he can develop 
wholesome moral characters in his pupils, all these other 
things will take care of themselves. If he can whip a 
boy to make him better and is able to show him that this 
is the reason for it, he will probably make a right use of 
corporal punishment. If, however, he whips him to 
vindicate himself, or even to set an example for the rest 
of the school, he will fail. There are other secondary ob- 
jects, but the principal end of school government is 
development of character. 

Continuous Discipline. — School government should be 
continuous, i. e., it should be the same to-day that it 
was yesterday. It should not depend on the teacher's 
digestion nor the condition of the weather, but should be 
calm and firm from morning until night, from one week 
to the next. A boy unintentionally paid a high compli- 
ment to his teacher when he said, " You would do what 
you promised even if the world came to an end.'' The 
teacher whose discipline is even, though strict, will in 
the end be respected by his pupils; indeed, pupils as a rule 
beheve in strict discipline and hke it providing it is 
" fair." The teacher who can maintain an even temper 
and a high average of self-control on his part and on the 
part of his pupils, is the teacher who is, to that degree, 
successful in school government. 



School Government 149 

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AS VIEWED BY THE COURTS 

As many young teachers have not been instructed in 
school law regarding corporal punishment and do not 
know the attitude of the courts toward those who inflict 
this form of punishment, it might not be out of place to 
introduce a brief discussion of its legal aspect. The 
following paragraphs are from the pen of Professor L. A. 
Parke, formerly a practicing attorney, now head of the 
department of commerce of the Kansas State Normal 
School, who has made a thorough study of court decisions 
relative to school law. 

" This brief discussion of corporal punishment is not a 
consideration of it from a pedagogical view point, but 
is merely a statement in very condensed form of what 
the courts have decided. Many cases have been carried 
up to the courts of last resort in the different states, thus 
showing that corporal punishment in the schools has 
been a prolific source of litigation. Parents are quick 
to resent what they consider any unjust or unduly severe 
chastisement of their children by a teacher, and courts 
and juries scan closely the circumstances attending its 
infliction and the spirit and motive of the teacher who 
inflicts it. 

Right to Inflict. — '' The courts, however, with entire 
unanimity have affirmed the right of the teacher to ad- 
minister corporal punishment unless a statute of the 
state or a regulation of the school board forbids it, but 
there has been some difference of opinion as to the degree 
of severity that may be used. 

Degree of Severity. — " The earlier cases permitted a 
more severe chastisement than later cases uphold. The 
teacher must exercise his authority with discretion and 
moderation. When, in the judgment of reasonable men. 



150 The Rural School 

the punishment is clearly immoderate or excessive, a jury 
will be justified in finding the teacher guilty of assault 
and battery. In determining what is a reasonable degree 
of punishment, the circumstances attending the offence 
— the age, size, strength and sex of the offender, his ap- 
parent motive, the nature of the offence, the influence of 
his example on others, his attitude towards his teacher 
and his past conduct — may all be considered. The ob- 
duracy of a pupil under punishment may justify severity, 
but it does not follow that a teacher would be justified 
in continuing the punishment until the pupil should be 
subdued. The obduracy of the pupil would not warrant 
immoderate punishment. All necessary force may be 
used to overcome the resistance of the pupil to reason- 
able punishment or to the proper commands of the 
teacher, but no unnecessary or disproportionate force or 
violence may be employed. 

Attitude of the Teacher. — " The bearing of the teacher 
is an important factor in determining whether the pun- 
ishment is justified in the eye of the law. Punishment 
must not be inflicted in anger or insolence, but should be 
given in a kind and reasonable spirit, and one court adds, 
' accompanied with that affectionate moral suasion so 
eminently due from one placed by the law loco parentis, 
the sacred relation of parents.' " 

PLACING PUPILS ON THEIR HONOR 

When you are master of the situation, you can allow a 
great many privileges that otherwise you would deny. 
By being master of the situation is meant that you know 
your school and feel confidence in yourself that you can 
restrain any abuse of a privilege, or are sure that you 
can prevent your school from getting away from you, or, 



I 



School Government 151 

if it does get a start, that you can easily bring it back 
to its original behavior. This is not an admonition to 
young teachers, but to those who have had experience and 
know their ground. Children like to be free, so does the 
teacher; then let the boys and girls be put upon their 
honor and be given an opportunity to develop character. 
Place confidence in your pupils. As soon as boys or 
girls know the meaning of honor they ought to have an 
opportunity to exercise honor, and the teacher ought to 
trust them so far as they are able to bear. When a settle- 
ment has been made with a pupil and he has promised 
to do right, expect him to do right. Do not watch him 
from the corner of your eyes, and expect him to do the 
same thing over again, but trust him, and you may not 
need to see some little things that he has done, especially 
if he is making an honest effort. 

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MOTOR ACTIVITIES 

The impressions that come through the sensory organ- 
ism tend to work themselves out in motor activities of 
appropriate form. For example, if while hungry one is 
passing a house and catches the appetizing odor of frying 
ham, the chances are that his mouth will water; the 
glands have been set to work and the saliva begins to 
flow as if he were really eating the meat. This experience 
may lead the hungry tramp to the back door in an 
attempt to get some of the meat by fair means or foul. 
Again, a boy looking through the fence at a patch of ripe 
watermelons is not safe. There is one thing open for him 
to do and that is to remove himself from the reach of 
these melons or he will be over the fence. Anger contracts 
the muscles, while grief relaxes them. The joyous child 
is inclined to dance and play; the sad person sits demurely 



152 The Rural School 

iii one place. Fear blanches the cheek, while shame brings 
a flush of blood to the otherwise pale face. 

In Tarbell's "Teachers' Guide for 1908" Henry 
Churchill King is quoted as saying, " Positive self-control 
means that we are to heed that principle which the psy- 
chologists call impulsiveness of consciousness; that is, 
every thought, by its very presence in the mind, tends to 
pass into action, and will do so, if it is not hindered by the 
presence of some other thought leading in some other 
direction. I regard that principle of very great importance 
in all our moral and spiritual life. If you are sitting in 
the parlor of a friend, while you are waiting for him, and 
there is an open letter on the table, and you are not think- 
ing particularly of what you are doing but have your eye 
on the letter, before you know it you will very likely put 
out your hand, take it up and begin to read it, until 
you recall yourself with a start. The single idea, un- 
checked by any other for the moment, was present in the 
mind; it passed into action almost in spite of you.'' 

Two Methods of Inhibition. — The phase of this sub- 
ject that interests the teacher is how to inhibit those 
acts that are detrimental to the school and the individual. 
There are two ways of doing this; first, by negation, and 
second, by substitution. 

Negation. — The more common method of inhibiting 
evil acts is by negation. This is where the teacher or one 
in authority says, " don't " or " you must not," or some 
other negative command. Mr. Wilkinson, ex-president 
of the Kansas State Normal Schools, used to tell the story 
about a little boy, who, when asked at school what his 
name was, replied, " Johnny Don't." He had heard 
" Johnny don't " so much at home that he supposed that 
that was his name. This method of inhibition by ne- 
gation does not relieve the tendency to act out the im- 



School Government 153 

pulse; it only seems to dam it up for the time being with 
the possibiUty, if not probability, that it will break forth 
more vehemently than it otherwise would have done. 
Try to stop a crowd of girls from laughing by inhibiting 
by negation and see the result. The best way is to let 
them laugh and laugh until they laugh it out. 

Punishment. — It is claimed by some that pain will 
inhibit certain tendencies; it seems to relieve the tension 
or inclination and ofttimes effectually inhibits. 

Substitution. — The most effectual way of inhibiting 
is by substitution. By this is meant the replacing of the 
thought by a thought of a different character, or by letting 
the impulse work out in a form that will not be harmful. 
Mr. Keith in his book '' Elementary Education '' in dis- 
cussing the subject of discipline gives an example that 
illustrates this point. A grandfather and two little grand- 
sons were in a railroad station one day with other passen- 
gers while it was raining. The water came in under the 
door and crossed the floor in two or more streams. The 
little fellows were playing in it and were getting their 
clothes soiled. No threats or entreaties that the grand- 
father could make, nor appeals that ^' Mamma would 
feel so bad, if they got their clothes wet," were of any 
avail. Finally a man understanding inhibition by sub- 
stitution suggested that they walk across the water on 
their heels, and headed a procession of three around the 
room walking through the water on heels. This satisfied 
the boys and did not soil their clothes. 

The only true way then to inhibit is by substitution. 
If one can get the angry man to think about something 
else, he will cease to be angry. This shows the philosophy 
of the old adage, " When angry, count one hundred be- 
fore you speak." Generally by that time the person will 
be thinking about something else. If the laughing girls 



154 The Rural School 

can be brought to think about something serious, they 
will stop laughing. 

Application of Principle of Substitution. — The op- 
portunities of inhibiting by substitution in school govern- 
ment are many. One of the hard things to control is 
snowballing. This may often be regulated by allowing 
snow " fights " between certain pupils and on certain 
parts of the school grounds, with the understanding that 
the teacher will have the cooperation of the pupils in pro- 
hibiting it elsewhere. All that go into the battle must take 
what comes, and not run to the house for protection. 

It will take a wise head to find substitutions for all the 
impulses that will arise in a vigorous school, but any 
teacher knowing the principle can make advantageous 
use of this method of inhibition. 

THE USE OF INCENTIVES 

By incentives are meant those things which induce de- 
sirable school activity, which spur a pupil on to put for- 
ward his best effort. For example, emulation sometimes 
leads pupils to thoughtful, hard study; and the desire 
for praise from teacher or parent will often lead to good 
conduct and obedience. 

Characteristics of a Good Incentive. — In the first 
place an incentive should be adapted to the grade of the 
pupil. A good incentive for the primary grade may not 
be suited to the higher grades. In the second place, a 
good incentive takes account of effort and does not recog- 
nize results alone. Many incentives are directed toward 
results only, and no credit is given to the person who has 
done his best, but has failed to surpass some other. There 
should be incentives for the slow plodders and the com- 
mon workers; for there are so many of them, that they 



School Government 155 

far outnumber the prize-winning groups. The good 
incentive should be continuous; it should grow in at- 
tractiveness from day to day and lead the pupil to ad- 
vance in his desire to conform to school regulations. 
Finally an incentive should appeal to the best that is 
in the pupil. 

Incentives of Last Resort. — Under this head are clas- 
sified the various forms of punishments and the use of 
sarcasm and ridicule. Such measures should be resorted 
to only after all higher incentives have failed and should 
always have for an object to save or better the pupil. 

Incentives Liable to Abuse. — There are certain in- 
centives whose degrees of usefulness depend largely on 
how they are used. The giving of prizes is an example. 
The objectionable features of prize giving are that it does 
not take account of effort except as it is shown in results; 
that it is not a continuous incentive; that it does not 
develop character; that it is inclined to make the re- 
ceiver of the prize proud and selfish; and that it often 
leads to rivalry and envy. However, if prizes are offered 
in such a way that every pupil may receive one, the giving 
of prizes may become of real service to the school. For 
example, if certificates of perfect attendance are offered 
to all who are neither absent nor tardy, every one is given 
a chance to receive a prize, the fact that one is given a 
certificate not barring another from receiving the same 
honor. In the same class as prizes, come grades and 
merit marks, for in nature they are prizes open to all. 
The principal fault in the use of grades is that too much 
stress is laid upon them. In trying to determine into 
what grade a pupil should go, the ultimate question 
should not be what mark did he get, but will it be better 
for the child to take this work over again or should he 
pass on to the next? 



156 The Rural School 

It must be kept in mind all the time that grades are 
simply mechanical estimates made by the teacher, and 
that no system of grades can be made absolutely accu- 
rate. Furthermore, earnestness, effort and honesty are 
things that are hard to estimate in per cents, yet they are 
things more desirable than the scholarship which we often 
credit with a high grade. 

While emulation is an incentive which is often abused, 
still we need to measure our own efforts with those of our 
fellows to accomplish our best results. In school work, 
something of a contest is needed to bring out the best 
efforts of the pupils. A form of emulation which is ap- 
plicable to small schools is where a pupil competes with 
himself. He compares his penmanship of to-day with 
that of two weeks ago; he finds that in the same time he 
can work ten examples where last week he could do only 
five of the same grade; he has been able to go a whole 
week without missing a word, etc. Thus, in many ways 
emulation may be judiciously directed for the advance- 
ment of pupils and the upbuilding of the school. 

Best Incentives. — The incentives which we have clas- 
sified as Incentives of Last Resort and Incentives Liable 
to Abuse are, in general, to be used when pupils are not 
on a high enough plane morally to respond to higher in- 
centives. The teacher must begin on the plane of the 
pupil's appreciation and strive to bring him to a higher one. 

Approhation. — : The scholar has fallen very low in the 
scale of morality who does not care what others think of 
him. He may not value the approbation of his teacher 
and his parents, the ones who are most interested in him 
and whose approbation is worth most to him, yet he 
values the opinions of his mates. For this reason, one 
of the very best incentives to cultivate in school is class 
or school spirit along with a high standard of morality. 



School Government 157 

Gratification of Curiosity. — In every child there is more 
or less of curiosity and, if the lessons and school work can 
be so presented as to arouse this characteristic, it becomes 
a strong incentive and one that should be cultivated. The 
writers of continued stories know how to make use of this 
bent of our natures and close the chapters in the most 
interesting places. The teacher can use this method in 
getting scholars to read a new book, as suggested in the 
chapter on the library. But it is the primary pupils, 
especially, who will respond to this incentive. They are 
interested in things that move, — in action, no doubt 
wondering what the outcome will be. Hence a chart in 
which the letters may be arranged by the teacher has an 
interest about it that the ready-made chart does not 
have. The drudgery of learning words can be enlivened 
by hunting for the word among a number of other words 
that the teacher has written on the board; also, by find- 
ing two-year-old or three-year-old words, " an "-words, 
" ing "-words, etc. The ingenious teacher can find use 
for this faculty in geography and other subjects. 

The Satisfaction of Knowing is a direct reward for the 
labor expended. It is labor paying labor in labor's own 
product and thus is the most natural of incentives. When 
people can be brought to love knowledge for knowledge's 
sake, they are on safe ground educationally. 

Overcoming Difficulties. — There is more or less of pug- 
nacity in all people, and, if this can be brought to service 
in overcoming the difficulties of the schoolroom, it be- 
comes a powerful agent for good. All like to win, and, if 
a student can be brought to feel the satisfaction of victory 
when he has worked a hard example in arithmetic or has 
mastered a difficult lesson in grammar, he is then putting 
his pugnacity to good use, a better use than if he were 
pounding one of his mates on the playground. 



158 The Rural School 

Satisfaction of Doing Right. — There is, perhaps, no 
higher incentive than the doing of right for right's sake. 
It is not an incentive that httle children can appreciate, 
but, if the upper grades have been properly taught, and 
have right ethical principles, it ought to appeal to them. 
The school that will respond to an appeal embodying this 
principle is an enviable body of young people. They will 
do the work of the school because it is right; they will 
refrain from misdemeanors upon the playgrounds, be- 
cause these things are wrong; they are the making of 
good citizens and the state can feel that its money has 
been well expended in their education. 

REFERENCES 

Bagley, Classroom Management {p. 290, School City). 
1907. The Macmillan Co., $1.25. 

Charter, Methods of Teaching (chapters 8-10). 
Colgrove, The Teacher and the School {chapter 24)- 

1910. Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.25. 

Keith, Elementary Education {chapter 7). 1905. Scott, 
Foresman & Co., $1.25. 

Murphy, Turning Points in Teaching {chapters 5 and 6) . 
New ed., 1909. A. Flanagan & Co., 60c. 

Phillips, The Art of Saving Character: The Treatment 
of Delinquent Boys in Institutions and in the George Junior 
Republic Contrasted. WorWs Work 2: 1296. 

'Dntton, School Management {chapter 8). 1903. Charles 
Scribner's Sons, $1.00. 

Jones, Principles of Education {chapter 3, Motivation). 

1911. The Macmillan Co., $1.00. 

Page, Theory and Art of Teaching {chapter 9). American 
Book Co., $1.00. 

White, School Management (p. 130). American Book 
Co., $1.00, 



Chapter XV 

SCHOOL ETHICS 

THE NEED OF ETHICAL TEACHING 

A Call for Upright Men. — The state has a right to 
expect that the schools will train its future citizens in 
morals as well as teach them concerning the secular af- 
fairs of life. The state is as much interested in an obe- 
dient, upright citizen, as in a well-informed citizen. It 
needs men with deep convictions of moral right and 
wrong. Men have too long worshiped the person who 
has been successful financially without asking whetljer he 
acquired his money by fair means or foul. To win, by 
fair means if possible, but win, has been the prevailing 
policy in college athletics and school games. There is an 
awakening along these lines in the political world, and it 
is high time that there be an awakening in the schools; 
for there is a call for men who can play fair and deal hon- 
estly. The state needs such men in pohtics, and it has a 
right to expect that the schools will do their part in fur- 
nishing them. 

Moral Teachers. — The place to begin this moral train- 
ing is with the teacher. If the teacher is immoral, there 
is little use for him to teach morals in school, for he will 
be but " sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal." The 
oft-quoted lines of Emerson fit well here: '^ How can I 
hear what you say while what you are thunders so loud 
in my ears? '' The teacher with a strong personality and 

159 



160 The Rural School 

an upright character can do more for character building 
than all the ethical codes and formulas that may be 
printed. It is the living teacher that is so important in 
all school work. Again and again this thought must be 
reiterated and the burden of the success or failure of the 
school must be laid upon the shoulders of the teacher. It 
has been said, " As the teacher, so the school," and the 
truth of this statement is being verified in thousands of 
instances every year. In some way good schools seem to 
follow certain teachers, and poor schools are in the wake of 
other teachers. While the statement about Mark Hopkins 
and the log was not made to disparage the idea of good 
schoolhouses, it was made to emphasize the importance 
and influence of a good teacher. A school board can well 
afford to inquire into the character of the teacher that they 
are about to hire; for a teacher with convictions that he 
is ready to stand for, and discretion enough to know when 
and how to act is worth more to a district than a college 
graduate without any definite moral principles. 

METHODS OF ETHICAL TEACHING 

Unsuccessful Attempts. — American teachers have suc- 
ceeded in teaching primary subjects, geography and his- 
tory, but they have not been so successful in teaching 
ethics in the common schools. The reasons for this are 
various. The first is because they have not tried very 
hard. . They have not felt the need. Of course, they have 
acknowledged that ethics should be taught, but have not 
realized the necessity of teaching this subject as much as 
they have that of teaching physiology, history, reading, 
etc. In the second place, they have failed because, when 
they did attempt to teach ethics, they did it in a formal 
manner, and boys and girls felt that they were being 



School Ethics 161 

" preached at," and revolted and set themselves as flint 
against the truths presented. There was no attempt to 
connect this teaching with the every-day affairs of life, 
no call to put the truth of these lessons into practice. It 
was dry formalism, and it failed to accomplish the results 
desired. Then again, teachers have failed because they 
went to the other extreme and said that all teaching of 
morals should be informal; that, when the truth pre- 
sented itself in the regular lessons of the day, they would 
take it up; that, if a difficulty in the schoolroom or on the 
playground called for the teaching of a certain moral 
truth, they would then present the principle underlying 
and give the requisite instruction. In other words, they 
wait for the occasion to direct them as to time and sub- 
ject. This is in part a good plan, if it were carried out; 
but it is so easy to neglect the occasion, and so hard to 
break away from the regular program of the day to teach 
a lesson in morals. Then, too, the school may not bring 
out all the truths that one should teach. It is so easy to 
neglect those things for which we do not plan and for 
which our daily program does not call. 

Making Use of Incidents. — A teacher ought to step 
aside from the daily routine when occasion suggests, to 
teach some important moral truth. A wreck on the rail- 
road may present the opportunity for teaching a lesson 
on obedience to orders, or carefulness or exactness as the 
case may indicate. Some transaction at school, if it is 
not too personal, may give an occasion for a talk on neat- 
ness, or some other of the school virtues. At opening 
exercises in the morning or at noon, or it may be at the 
close of the recess period, will be the proper time to bring 
the subject to the attention of the school. 

A Formal Plan Desirable. — While the incidental plan 
should not be lost sight of, some more formal plan of 



162 The Rural School 

teaching ethics should be adopted. There was a time 
when all the up-to-date schools were teaching spelling 
incidentally. There were no spelling books used, but 
words were selected from all the lessons, and spelling was 
made a part of every exercise. The plan seemed to be 
good, but it did not work; or, perhaps, it is better to say 
the teachers did not work it, and they turned back to the 
speUing book again. So with ethics, some definite plan 
or formal outline must be incorporated into the course of 
study or little or nothing will be accomplished. 

Right Thinking. — In order to get pupils to act right 
it is necessary to get them to think right. If you can in- 
fluence people to think good thoughts, you will have no 
trouble -with their outward actions. Many are inclined 
to believe that it does not matter how one thinks so long 
as he acts right. They forget that thinking is father to 
acting. As a rule we do not do those things to which our 
thinking is all averse. We sometimes do things under 
the impulse of the moment, in a flash of temper, that we 
would not do were we calmly to think it over; but even 
then, if we analyze these deeds closely, it will be seen 
that they bear some relation to our thinking. 

How to Get Pupils to Think Good Thoughts. — Then 
the question is, how shall the teacher get the pupils to do 
pure thinking. First, the pupils should know this truth, 
*' Thoughts are things." Next, they should be given 
material for good wholesome thoughts. There are many 
short selections of poetry, which contain elevating 
thoughts, that may be learned by the whole school and 
recited as a part of the opening exercises. As far as pos- 
sible, keep from sight ugly pictures, especially those 
which suggest immoral thoughts. This suggestion ap- 
plies to word pictures as well as to other pictures. See 
also the suggestion given by Mr. Turner in his '' Recess 



School Ethics 163 

Gang " in the chapter on Play and Playgrounds. The 
immoral stories of one boy on the playground or on the 
road to and from school will poison the minds of every 
one with whom he may come in contact. 

The teacher has not done his whole duty until he sees 
that the outhouses are clean from all immoral pictures 
and suggestions. It is necessary to keep the mind pure 
as well as to feed it with pure thoughts. 

Time an Element. — Another of Miss Brownlee's ideas 
is to keep a subject before the mind for a month; for 
example, she takes kindness as the subject for Septem- 
ber. The quotations are all about kindness, the motto is 
kindness, and for the whole month the moral teaching is 
about kindness. She takes a division of the subject for 
each week; first week, kindness to parents; second week, 
to the teacher; third week, to brothers and sisters and 
associates; fourth week, to animals. Thus the whole 
month is spent on the subject of kindness, and the im- 
pression is deepened and the moral concept is broadened 
as it could not be if these lessons were given haphaz- 
ard. She follows this month's work on kindness by 
cleanliness, obedience, self-control, courtesy and cheer- 
fulness, work, honor, honesty and truthfulness and clean 
language for the respective months of the school year, 
keeping each thought before the minds of the pupils for 
the required time. 

Value of Opportunity for Expression — All moral 
training will be more or less a failure that does not pro- 
vide for an opportunity to put the teaching into prac- 
tice. One may talk all he pleases about kindness, but 
unless he gets his pupils to be kind to some one or some- 
thing, it will leave no lasting impression. They must be 
encouraged to be kind to father and mother, to teacher 
a.nd others, to do little acts of kindness to playmates and 



164 The Rural School 

pets, that they may make the moral growth desired. The 
same truth holds good here as in school government; we 
need to inhibit the evil acts and encourage the good ones. 
If the tendency to do kindness is inhibited, the desire is 
lost and it becomes moral degeneracy rather than moral 
growth. Some one has said that an evil effect of the 
theater is that it arouses our emotions but gives no op- 
portunity for giving practical expression to the emotion. 
For example, we see pity depicted on the stage and we are 
constrained to relieve the distress, but when the play is 
over, we awaken to a sense of the conditions and realize 
that it was all a play and our emotions were for naught. 
The feeling was inhibited, and the next time it is harder 
to arouse the sense of compassion. The month that clean- 
liness is taught will avail but little unless the boys and 
girls come with cleaner hands and faces, and unless the 
floor is kept cleaner than usual. It should be a time for 
everybody and everjrfching to be clean. Cleanliness 
should be the motto; it should also be the subject of short 
morning talks. Keep the subject constantly before the 
minds without making it offensive. Think it, talk it, 
practice it. 

Encouraging the Pupils to do the Talking. — That the 
pupils niay not think that they are being " preached at," 
it is a good plan to have them do most of the talking. 
They have ideas on moral .subjects and often very good 
ones, and if they may be led to express these ideas, it will 
be better than for the teacher to do all the talking. In- 
deed, the teacher should not do a great deal of talking; 
a short talk of five minutes in the morning will be better 
than long-drawn-out lectures on a subject. These long 
talks were what weakened the influence of the old time 
method of moral instruction. This is the preaching that 
all pupils dread. Lead them to do the preaching. 



School Ethics 165 

The following is quoted from the Course of Study in 
Ethics for the Pubhc Schools of Kansas: " The child 
may resent having a moral drawn for him which he can 
draw for himself. He is more likely to follow the prin- 
ciple which he himself discovers or formulates, because 
it is his own." Miss Brownlee has a very pretty device 
for teaching the little people ethical truths. She tells 
them that they have a servant that ought to be taught 
to obey them, — it is body. Body does not always do as 
it should; it does not keep its hands clean; sometimes it 
eats too much, and again it will not go to bed when it 
is time, etc., but they can make body obey, if only they 
keep trying. 

This device is all right for little folks, and, if they are 
instructed in the presence of the older ones, these in turn 
will take the lessons to themselves. The suggestions 
given in the following topic will apply more particularly 
to the older pupils. 

The School City. — It is possible to introduce some 
of the features of the School City into the rural school. 
Briefly stated, the School City is an organization in the 
school in which the pupils elect a mayor, a city clerk and 
the other officers of a city from among their own number. 
Sometimes these officers are the governing body of the 
school; in other instances they have certain duties and 
responsibilities, but these do not extend to the control- 
ling of their mates nor to the making of rules and regula- 
tions for the school. 

The Plan in Operation. — In the model rural school 
maintained by the State Normal of Kansas during the 
summer of 1910, Mrs. Emily K. Hoelcel, the teacher, 
used some such plan as the following. One girl was a 
committee to see that there was some one to sweep and 
keep the house clean. All who were old enough to do 



166 The Rural School 

this work were given lessons in sweeping and dusting. 
This instruction was a part of the domestic science teach- 
ing, which consisted of lessons in sewing, folding and 
brushing of clothes, very much about cleanhness and 
a little about cooking and serving. One afternoon the 
teacher and pupils served a light lunch to the parents 
of the district. This organization for work extended to 
committees to look after the cloakrooms and furnish 
water and carry out the slops. On the playground there 
were captains for each of the swings, one for the " slide " 
and one for the " giant's stride; '' captains for the ball 
games and other games and plays. There was a sanitary 
commission whose duty was to look after the grounds, 
water the flowers and keep the outhouses clean. The 
children took great interest in these matters and it was 
surprising how much was accomplished in two months 
in the way of better sentiments and higher ideas. 

Responsibility and Cooperation. — It is of great im- 
portance to place responsibility upon a pupil commensu- 
rate to his age and judgment. It is often the very best 
thing for a bad boy, who is accustomed to breaking the 
rules of school and of play also, to give him charge of a 
swing and let it be his place to see that all have equal 
opportunities and that each one gets his turn to swing. 
If it is his business to see that there is fair play in the 
game, it will lead him to look at right and wrong from a 
different standpoint and change his own acts in accord- 
ance with his new ideas of thinking. Cooperation in the 
management of the school, whether it be in keeping the 
house clean and decorating its walls by hanging a pic- 
ture; beautifying the grounds by planting a tree, a shrub 
or flower; raking the yard and burning the trash; or 
assisting in the government of the school by seeing that 
there is fair play in the school games, is of intrinsic value. 



School Ethics 167 

To lead pupils to feel that the school is theirs and to de- 
sire to make it the very best possible, is worth more than 
many lessons learned from books. Another good thing 
about this cooperation is that it is reactive; the pupil, 
when he becomes imbued with the spirit, is willing to do 
his work in the schoolroom. 

Wise judgment and careful management is needed to 
put these plans into operation. The teacher who tries to 
get his pupils to do the sweeping so that he may be saved 
this drudgery, or the teacher who is unwilling to take hold 
of the broom in order to show a pupil how to sweep with- 
out making a dust, or even do the work himself if circum- 
stances seem to justify, need not try this plan. The plan 
of having captains on the playground, in order to save the 
teacher the management of them, will fail. In this idea, 
there is no place for selfishness. It is utilizing the indi- 
vidual for the good of the whole school. Its great lessons 
are unselfishness and the dignity of labor; and the teacher 
who is afraid of work, or who tries to introduce it from 
selfish motives, had better leave it untried. 

Influence of Heroes. — There are still other means that 
may be found for the special instruction of older boys and 
girls. Mr. E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent of Kan- 
sas, has prepared and distributed throughout the state 
an excellent course of study in ethics, from which the 
following quotation is to our purpose: " Each school 
study has a specific moral value. Literature and history 
embody in concrete form moral facts and principles, show- 
ing to the child his own self, ^ writ large,' furnishing him 
with ideals and incentives, and molding his moral judg- 
ment; and they will accomplish these results the more 
surely as the teacher is himself moved by that which is 
presented. Every subject involving observation and ex- 
pression is essentially moral. Every subject, therefore, 



168 The Rural School 

should be so taught as to make for truth-teUing in word 
and act, and for training in self-expression." 

This suggests the method to be pursued. The heroes 
of history and literature furnish the basis for a great deal 
of moral instruction for older pupils. If a boy can really 
be interested in Lincoln, in his struggles for an educa- 
tion, in his combat with poverty, in his battle with slavery 
and the forces which opposed him and in his life-long 
effort to bring out the best there was in himself, he will 
be led to be a better man with higher ambitions and a 
stronger determination to fight against the vicissitudes 
of life. History is replete with examples of heroes and 
men and women of noble lives. Here may be found ex- 
amples of almost any of the virtues as well as the vices of 
mankind. However, it is always better that the teaching 
be positive rather than negative; in other words, it is 
better to commend the virtues of men rather than to 
condemji their vices. History nowhere furnishes better 
examples of upright characters than in the lives of Abra- 
ham, Joseph, Moses, and, above all, in the hfe of Christ. 



REFERENCES 

Brownlee, Character Building in School. 1912. Hough- 
ton Mifflin Co., $1.00. 

Brownlee, Moral Training in Public Schools. 1908. 
Holden Book Cover Co., 10c. 

Everett, Ethics for Young People. Ginn & Co., 50c. 

Ethics of Success (Books 1, 2, 3, for grades 3 to 8). 
Silver, Burdett & Co., 48, 60, & 90c. 

Kansas State Board of Education, Course of Study in 
Ethics. 1909. State Supt. of Public Instruction, Topeka, 
Kansas. 

White, School Management. American Book Co., $1.00. 



Chapter XVI 

AGRICULTURE IN RURAL SCHOOLS 
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES 

Difficulties. — Sympathy should be extended to those 
teachers who say that they have a hard time to get all of 
the work done that is now outUned in the course of study, 
without adding a new subject. Those who are in close 
touch with the work being done in the rural schools know 
that much of the work is but poorly done and that the 
teachers are not prepared to teach the subject of agricul- 
ture. 

But if agriculture has a body of truth suited to school 
instruction, rooni mil have to be made for it and teachers 
will have to be trained to teach it. That the Agricul- 
tural Colleges and the Department of Agriculture at 
Washington have gotten together a great body of knowl- 
edge that is worth the farmer's knowing cannot be 
denied, and much has been put into textbook form so 
that it may be taught in our schools. It is only a ques- 
tion of time until this knowledge will be adjusted to the 
needs of the schools. 

Nature of Material Suited to Rural Schools. — Our 
first textbooks in physiology were very different from 
what they are now, and even the last few years have seen 
a great change in the subject matter used. Formerly, 
much time was spent in learning the names of bones and 
muscles; now hygiene and sanitation are centers of at- 

169 



170 The Rural School 

tention. So it will be with agriculture. It has been 
handed down from the colleges and it has been too tech- 
nical and scientific for the rural schools. It must be ele- 
mentary and practical. 

Farmers are inclined to think that a woman cannot 
teach a boy how to farm and how to raise hogs. And 
there is some truth in this; but as a woman can teach 
certain laws of health and certain truths regarding sani- 
tation, so there are certain truths of agriculture that either 
a man or woman can teach. As was said above, these 
truths must be elementary, such as can be put into a text- 
book and will yield to the textbook method of teaching. 
The rural schools are not equipped to do laboratory work 
and will not be for years to come. There are facts that 
can be presented in school and that pupils may observe 
in the field, the garden or barnyard. These must relate 
to plants and other vegetation, farm animals, and insects 
that help or hinder the farmer. Nature study has only 
to be given an agricultural trend to answer the purpose 
of agriculture for the lower grades. A text containing a 
little more advanced material comprising the elements of 
botany and zoology, and possibly something of chemistry 
and geology, presented in common terms and simple 
language, should be used for the higher grades. 

Things Which Can be Done. — In spite of obstacles 
there are a number of things which an earnest teacher 
can do to encourage the study of agriculture in the com- 
munity and among the older boys and girls. The Depart- 
ment of Agriculture at Washington publishes numerous 
bulletins on various subjects pertaining to agriculture. 
These bulletins may be had for the asking. They treat 
not only of agriculture but also of dairying, chicken rais- 
ing, bee culture, stock breeding, etc. The teacher can 
get a number of these and lend them to persons interested 



Agriculture in Rural Schools l71 

in these subjects and encourage them to send for others 
on their own account. The agricultural colleges also are 
sending out bulletins, and in some cases are even send- 
ing out members of their faculty to give lessons in agri- 
culture and conduct classes in domestic science and 
household economy. The teacher who keeps informed of 
and in touch with these movements can do much by in- 
teresting the community in them. 

OUTLINE OF WORK FOR A RURAL SCHOOL 

Professor H. L. Kent, of the Extension Department of 
Kansas State Agricultural College, gives the following 
outline of what can reasonably be accomplished in agri- 
culture during a seven months' term in a rural school: 

'^ So long as we can have but one year of agriculture 
in the grades, this one year of work must deal very largely 
with fundamentals and general principles. It can not 
and indeed should not deal with specific rules for various 
practices and specific information about various crops. 
If the proper kind of nature study be done in the lower 
grades much of the foundation work may be taught be- 
fore the work in formal agriculture i^ begun. 

^' The work must be applied locally and in this way the 
general principles may be illustrated and applied most 
effectively. These principles should whenever possible 
be illustrated and applied to special crops, as corn, oats, 
wheat, apples, sorghum, etc. 

'' The work must follow the order of the seasons so 
that the teacher may secure materials and apply the sub- 
ject matter. It must not be wholly a textbook course, 
but it must be more a study of things. The barnyard, 
the orchard, the field and the feed lot must constantly be 
sources of information and illustration. 



172 The Rural School 

" The following outline will give an idea of how the 
above principles may be applied. It is arranged for a 
seven-month school. For longer terms, more time should 
be given to each month's work. 

" First and. Second Months. — General principles of 
plant growth and structure: Flowers and fruit formation, 
roots and their work, leaves and their work, stems and 
their work. Special topics : budding, insect studies, 
weeds, propagation of plants and fungous diseases. Use 
important crops of the locality for illustration while 
teaching the above. 

" Third and Fourth Months. — Relation of live stock, 
farm crops and successful farming. Domestic animals 
and their improvement. Study breeds, market, classes, 
tjrpes, feeding, caring for and marketing the following: 
hogs, horses, cattle (including dairying), sheep, poultry. 
Special study of animal feeding (connect with plant 
growth and storage of food.) Make live stock surveys 
of the district. 

" Fifth Month. — Soils, soil origin and soil tjrpes, soil, 
air and water, relation of plant to soil (recall and review 
work of first two months), soil management, tillage and 
its effects, fertilizers, use and application. Continue field 
and laboratory work. 

" Sixth Month. — Seeds, seed selection, seed testing, 
germination and germination requirements, preparation of 
seed bed, planting and managing the hotbed. Wherever 
possible there should be a hotbed on the school grounds. 
Gardens and gardening should be emphasized in connec- 
tion with this month's work. 

^' Seventh Month. — Continue work with hotbed as 
laboratory and review work. Grafting, pruning, tree 
planting, yard improvement, garden work, insects and 
spraying, birds and crop-planting calendar should be 



Agriculture in Rural Schools 173 

worked out. If possible include time, amount of seed and 
preparation of seed bed for each crop. This must be 
brief, a ready reference compilation." 

A LESSON PLAN 

The following lesson suggestions by Professor Kent fit 
in with - the outline for the sixth month. By making 
similar lesson plans for the other topics of the outline, the 
teacher can make agriculture a most interesting and 
profitable study. 

"How the Seeds of Plants are Formed. — Although 
this is called a lesson plan, it may require several days 
to teach it. 

'' Introductory. — Why do plants need seeds? To con- 
tinue life of plant through the winter; to increase the 
number; to spread more widely over the earth. 

'^ What kind of plants produce seeds? Only mature 
plants which bear flowers. (Toadstools, puffballs and 
molds bear spores, dustlike particles, in place of seeds.) 

"Use of seeds to farmer: feed for animals; for new 
plants or crops. 

''Kind of seed the farmer wants: many; large; seeds 
with food that tastes good, for feed; good seed from good 
plants, for planting. 

'' Use the corn plant to learn how seeds are produced. 
Find late corn stalks with tassel and silk just shot. Take 
these to schoolroom for use of pupils. Try to have one 
for each pupil. 

" The Tassel. — Describe it. Carefully pull some of the 
little green scales apart. What is found? How many? 
Color? Shape? Have pupils ever seen these in the field? 
They are called stamens. What do they contain? (Try 
to get a mature tassel and dust pollen on a dark surface.) 



174 



The Rural School 



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CHILDREN WITH FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES RAISED IN THEIR 
GARDENS 



The corn tassel is a cluster of flowers. It is the function 
of these flowers to produce pollen. 

'' The Ear. — Strip off the husks carefully. Do not in- 
jure the silk. Tell what you see. (Describe the ear.) Ker- 
nels — size, hardness, etc. Where does the silk start? 
How does it differ there from at the tip of the ear? The 
ear is another cluster of flowers. Each silk and '' baby " 
kernel is a part of one flower called a pistil. The end of 
the silk is slightly rough for an inch or two. 

" Summary. — Kinds of flowers on corn plant. What 
each flower bears. Where each is found on stalk. How 
these differ from other flowers. 

'^ Questions. — Is it necessary that a part of a plant be 
bright-colored to be a flower? What is necessary to make 
it a flower? Name some other plants which do not have 
bright-colored flowers. 



Agriculture In Rural Schools 



175 




A SCHOOL CANNERY 

" Note. — No recitation in agriculture on the following 
day, but for drawing and grammar or English lesson 
pupils draw (from objects) the things studied the day 
before and write a description of them. Insist on plain, 
unshaded drawings. Criticise language, capitalization, 
punctuation, etc." 

SCHOOL GARDENS 



In the northern states, from the fact that the school 
terms extend over that part of the year in which gardens 
do not usually grow, and from the fact that the teachers 
lack a knowledge of the subject and that patrons are 
prejudiced against the introduction of the study into the 
school curriculum, not much has been accomplished in 
school gardens in our rural schools. In the southern 
states, weather conditions are more favorable, and better 




[176] 



Agriculture in Rural Schools 



177 



results have been attained. In either section the most 
successful work is being accompUshed by getting pupils 
interested in raising gardens at home. Sweet potato, to- 
mato, cabbage and lettuce plants may be raised in a hot- 
bed on the school grounds. The plants are then taken 
home and set in a garden there. 

A Canning Outfit. — An almost necessary supplement 
to gardening of this kind 
is a canning outfit. The 
boys and girls must be 
able to dispose of their 
products or they will soon 
lose interest in raising 
them. Through the direc- 
tion of the Department 
of Agriculture very suc- 
cessful experiments are 
being conducted along 
these fines in the South. 
Pupils are raising toma- 
toes at home and canning 
them in tin cans for the 
market. A canning outfit 

is bought by the district or loaned by the county or 
parish. In some instances government, state, or county 
experts visit the community and show the people how to 
use a canner. 

A Winter Garden. — A firm in Louisville, Kentucky, 
is manufacturing a double glass sash for hotbeds and cold 
frames. When made according to directions, these hot- 
bedfe will withstand zero, or even colder, weather without 
freezing. These winter gardens have been tested in 
many parts of the United States; and lettuce, radishes, 
onions and other hardy vegetables have been grown 




LOOKING OVER HER CROP 



178 



The Rural School 




A CORN CLUB MEETING 

through the coldest winter weather. The usual size of 
the sash is 3 by 6 feet, and it sells for $4.20. For ten 
or twelve dollars a school can equip a small hotbed of 
this kind, and by this means maintain both a fall and 
early spring garden. 

CONTESTS AND CLUBS 



About the best results are being attained in the teach- 
ing of agriculture and domestic science through the corn 
growing contests for boys and the cooking and sewing 
contests for girls. These are usually conducted by the 
county superintendent or the agriculture society of the 
county, but the teacher can encourage the pupils to enter 
and do their best for the honor of the school and neigh- 
borhood. In Nebraska, under the direction of former 
State Superintendent E. C. Bishop, much was accom- 



Agriculture in Rural Schools 179 

plished by the organization of clubs for consideration of 
various subjects. Numbers of young women banded 
together for the study of domestic science or household 
economy, and by the perusal of bulletins, by meetings 
and discussions, by actual practice and demonstrations 
much interest was aroused and much useful knowledge 
was gained. 

An Example. — W. M. Oakerson, County Superin- 
tendent of Nodaway County, Missouri, gives the follow- 
ing report of agricultural and domestic science contests, 
conducted by him. " A few years ago, we decided that in 
Nodaway County, Missouri, we could secure greater in- 
terest in farm work among the boys by inaugurating a 
corn growing contest for the boys, and that we could 
secure greater interest among the girls of the county by 
inaugurating contests for them in cooking, sewing and 
other home work. We believed then, and are now con- 
vinced, that these contests would tend to do the following : 

" 1. To stimulate and direct educational progress along 
practical lines. 

''2. To teach such scientific facts in reference to agri- 
culture and domestic science as will stimulate habits of 
observation, that will enable boys and girls to recognize 
good and bad qualities in their products, that they may 
learn something of the value of labor and the cost of 
production, that they may be encouraged to read good 
literature, that their views may be broadened and that 
they may be prepared for useful citizenship. 

''3. To utilize the natural love of young people for 
competition and cause them to put forth greater energy 
and activity for advancing their own education. 

" So each year we raise from $800 to SI 000 to be used 
in giving prizes and forwarding the work. All boys and 
young men from 10 to 20 years of age who desire are en- 



180 



The Rural School 







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A COEN CLUB BOY AND HIS CROP 



rolled in these contests, and certain rules are given them 
by which they must abide. The girls are enrolled for 
doing work in domestic science. We usually have about 
400 boys enrolled in the corn growing contest, and about 
600 girls enrolled in the domestic science contest. Prizes 
are given to the boys for the best ten ears of white corn, 
the best ten ears of yellow corn, the best 20 ears of white 
corn, the best 20 ears of yellow corn, the best ear of corn, 
the best kept record book, the largest acre yield of corn 
and for the best corn judging. The boys are divided into 



Agriculture in Rural Schools 181 

two classes according to age, those from 10 to 15 forming 
one class and those from 16 to 20 forming another class. 
This is to give the younger boys a chance to compete 
with each other and not require them to compete with 
the older boys. Instruction is sent to the boys from the 
office of the county superintendent, the Department of 
Agriculture of the State University and the U. S. Depart- 




MAKING A PRIZE LOAF OF BREAD 

ment of Agriculture. This instruction tells the boys how 
to select their seed corn, how to prepare the seed bed, 
how to plant the corn, how to cultivate the corn and how 
to care for the crop. The corn judge who has been with 
us from year to year says there is a vast difference in the 
boys' abilitj^ to select and judge corn now and at the time 
we began this work. It not only arouses interest among 
the boys, but when you have the boys interested, the 
parents become interested also, and while the object of 



182 The Rural School 

this work is to improve the boys, it is also proving bene- 
ficial to the boys' fathers. 

" The girls are offered prizes for such work as the best 
work apron, the best fancy apron, the best shirt waist, 
the best dressed doll, the best loaf of bread, the best 
butter cake, the best sponge cake, the best can of 
fruit or vegetables, etc. For different years different 
products may be worked. Instruction is sent to the girls 
which is prepared by the Home Economics Department 
of the Marjrville State Normal School and by the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture. 

'' This work is done through the teachers of the county. 
The teachers enroll the boys and girls in the work and 
give them instruction in it. We believe that this is inter- 
esting the young people of the county in the farm work 
and that many of them will be kept on the farm, while 
without this work they would not. It is not difficult to 
keep the young people on the farm if we can really get 
them interested in the work there." 

THE VIEW POINT OF THE COUNTRY 

If authors of textbooks and courses of study would 
recognize more fully the law of apperception and that 
there is a certain amount of local significance that should 
enter into every course of study, much could be done for 
our rural schools. This would, doubtless, require a 
different textbook and a different course of study for the 
rural schools from that used in city schools. Too much 
of the work in our books and courses of study is based 
on the supposition that pupils have had the experiences 
of city life rather than the experiences of country life. 
The pupil interprets new experience through the old, and 
this law should be recognized for the farmer's child as 



Agriculture in Rural Schools 183 

well as for the merchant's child. The teacher can do 
much along this line by making some changes here and 
there in the textbooks and courses of study in order to 
make them conform to the needs of the locality. For 
example, if the community is a wheat-growing region, the 
study of wheat and its products should enter largely into 
the work of the school. Here is a place to begin, for the 
pupils probably know something about wheat growing 
and they can be interested in this for a starting point. 
If our teachers would teach more about the country and 
less about the city; if they would set forth the health of 
its pure air, the beauty of its landscapes, the cooling fresh- 
ness of the timber's shade and the enchanting attraction 
of the babbling brook; if they could show that toil is 
honorable and that farming is a worthy calling — the 
most independent and honorable on earth; if they could 
show the boys and girls that there is need of men and 
women of brains to till the soil and raise the poultry and 
live stock of the farm; in short, if the teachers could lead 
the boys and girls to appreciate and respect farming, 
they would have done their share in teaching agriculture 
in the rural schools. 

REFERENCES 

Bailey, Principles of Agriculture. 1909. The Mac- 
millan Co., $1.25. 

Butterfield, Chapters in Rural Progress {chapters 9 and 
16). 1908. University of Chicago Press, $1.00. 

McKeever, Farm Boys and Girls {chapters 16 and 17). 
1912. The Macmillan Co., $1.50. 

United States Country Life Coumn.^^ioiL,Report. 1911. 
Sturgis and Walton, $1.00. 

Warren, Elements of Agriculture. 1909. The Mac- 
millan Co., $1.10. 



Chapter XVII 

DUTIES OF THE TEACHER 
TO THE DISTRICT 

To Protect Property. — In the minds of some, " Public 
property is my property, especially if I want to destroy 
it." This thought or some kindred one leads to the wan- 
ton destruction or mutilation of a great deal of public 
property. It is the teacher's imperative duty to protect 
the district's property; not simply by force of arms, but 
to instruct pupils and instill into their minds a regard for 
public property. This instruction should take broad 
grounds and teach care for all property both public and 
private. Pupils should understand that they ought to 
care for their own property, too; that the mere fact that 
they own a thing is no reason why they should destroy or 
mutilate it. Boys are more inclined to destroy things 
than girls are, and it takes many lessons to teach them 
otherwise. This teaching should lead to lessons in econ- 
omy, care and regard for a book, economy in the use of 
pencils and tablets. There is no reason why an example 
should begin in the middle of a page and all the remainder 
of the page be wasted. Often a few scribbles on a page 
destroy it for any other purpose. These are small mat- 
ters but serve as a basis for lessons in economy. 

Playing in the house leads to the injury of the school 
furniture, as* one of the least of its results. Careless 

184 



Duties of the Teacher 185 

throwing of stones, balls and snowballs is the cause of 
many broken window lights. As a rule, pupils should 
stand the expense of their careless and wanton destruction 
of property. 

Another way in which much public property is dam- 
aged is by defacing with knife and pencil. It is hard 
to keep teachers during institutes and other teachers' 
meetings from marking on the desks with pencils; after 
the pencil has done its work, the boy with his knife com- 
pletes the rude and destructive decoration. The best 
means of preserving school furniture from this mutilation 
of pencil and knife is to keep the desks and chairs well 
cleaned and varnished and then watch for the first pencil 
mark. Hold a pupil responsible for his individual seat. 
He should keep it from day to day as clear of marks as it 
was the day he first received it. 

In this respect, the most difficult task is to preserve the 
outbuildings in clean and wholesome condition. This 
becomes doubly difficult if the teacher be a young woman. 
But these are the source of much evil, and the teacher, 
man or woman, must face the responsibility. The teacher 
can keep track of the condition of these places, and if the 
remedy seems beyond her reach she can appeal to some 
member of the board through his wife, if necessary. No 
such difficulty confronts the male teacher, and he will 
have no excuse for neglecting his duty in this respect. 

If school officials could be brought to understand that 
property well maintained will command respect and will 
be less liable to abuse, it would make it much easier for 
teachers to protect school buildings and their equipments. 
The outhouse that is well cleaned in the fall before school 
begins, and from which all marks, obscene language and 
pictures are erased or removed by a coat of paint, will be 
much more easily kept clean. It would be hard to find 



186 The Rural School 

any one who would go into a schoolroom or office and with 
knife carelessly deface a new and brightly varnished desk 
or chair. Seldom could a man be found who would go 
into a merchant's office and thoughtlessly cut his desk 
or chairs, but there is many a man who will sit in front of 
his store and whittle his boxes to pieces. Not often will a 
boy be found who will cut a notch in a brightly varnished 
seat, but there are many who have rudely carved old, 
rough, unpolished desks and gave little thought to what 
they were doing. The best way to protect public prop- 
erty is to keep it in repair and well painted or varnished. 

To Maintain the Good Name of the School. — As a 
rule, the patrons of a district take pride in their school 
and are pleased to learn of its success. The new teacher 
coming into the district for the first time should take 
advantage of this feeling and try to make this year's 
school add to its already good reputation. It often takes 
good tact and enthusiasm to get the cooperation of the 
pupils. They sometimes think that it is their place to 
work against the teacher and make the school as poor as 
possible, but the really tactful teacher can change their 
minds and transform this opposition into cooperation. 

The teacher can generally get this cooperation and suc- 
ceed in building up the school by presenting the truth of 
the matter just as it is. Pupils should be very much in- 
terested in the school. It is for them and not for the 
teacher. He gets his salary and, perhaps, some reputation; 
they are getting their preparation for life; and, if the 
school fails, they fail. The presentation of such truths 
as the above will often gain for the teacher a majority of 
the school, and, if the teacher is wise, he will use this ma- 
jority for building up sentiment for a good school. Where 
this cannot be done, the teacher must not despair, but 
try some other plan. 



Duties of the Teacher 187 

Another way of building up school spirit is by contests 
with other schools. These contests may be in the nature 
of ciphering matches, spelling contests or some form of 
athletic sport. Perhaps nothing will build up school 
spirit more than a good team of some kind. It may be a 
basket ball team, a baseball team, a track team or a 
spelling team. The only trouble with these team contests 
is that they may absorb all the energy of the school and 
thus defeat the very object for which the school is striving. 
There should always be a rule that no one can play on a 
team who does not keep his school work up to grade. 

To Teach a Good School. — In the chapter following 
we shall speak of teaching a good school as an oppor- 
tunity; here we wish to present it as a duty. That the 
teacher should give the best that he has, cannot be em- 
phasized too strongly as a duty, nor held out too invitingly 
as an opportunity. His energy, his personality and his 
life with the best that it contains should be put into his 
school. School teaching is not shoveling dirt, it is not 
plowing corn, it is not merely making money. It is more 
than any or all of those. It is building lives, not for time 
but for eternity. The work should be faithfully and 
thoroughly done. 

Tests of a Good School. — Some may be helped if they see 
more clearly what is meant by a good school, hence a 
number of tests of a good school will be enumerated. 
These are more or less outward tests and neglect that in- 
ward spirit or bond of sympathy which sometimes exists 
between the teacher and pupils and makes a fairly good 
school out of what otherwise would be a very poor school. 
The following are tests of a good school. 

(1) Orderliness. — By this is meant a school that does 
things systematically, has a program and follows it, has 
an orderly way for the classes to pass and maintains that 



188 The Rural School 

order. Everything is done '' decently and in order/' Of 
course, an orderly school will be a reasonably quiet 
school. The quietness is a result of the order, and not 
order the result of the quietness; for we can imagine a 
very quiet school that is not orderly. An orderly school 
is the result of system. It is worth while to be sys- 
tematic in school work, not simply for order, but for the 
lessons it teaches the pupils. The teacher, who keeps 
his desk in order and requires his pupils to do the same, 
who is careful and neat in all work that he puts on the 
board and requires pupils to be the same, who is system- 
atic in all the arrangements of the school, will teach les- 
sons that will be practical and worth more than many 
of the lessons learned from a textbook. 

(2) Punctuality. — - In the second place, a good school 
should be punctual; not only should it do things in an 
orderly manner, but it should do them on time. School 
should begin on time, close on time, have recesses on time, 
call classes on time, do everything on time. This is another 
of the practical lessons that the school should teach. The 
element of time enters into every transaction of business, 
and the business man who has learned to be punctual in 
boyhood has the advantage over the one who has to learn 
this in the school of experience. In order to be success- 
ful, the business man must be punctual, his obligations 
must be met on time, — not a day or two late. 

One of the sins against punctuality is tardiness. This 
is one of the school evils, and one that is hard to break up 
in some localities. It is a detriment to the school in that 
it disturbs the progress of the work and distracts the 
attention of the whole school for the time being. It is 
one of the evils against which every school should contend 
and against which the good school is more or less success- 
ful. How successfully to prevent tardiness is a question 



Duties of the Teacher 189 

that has never been answered to the satisfaction of teach- 
ers. There have been many devices offered, and some of 
them have been quite effective under certain teachers 
and under favorable circumstances. These devices take 
the form of (a) punishments, (6) attractions and (c) senti- 
ment. 

(a) Punishments: Some have the rule that every one 
who has been tardy must make up the time after school 
or at recess. This conforms to the rule for punishment, 
viz., that the punishment should be a sequence of the 
offence. While this punishment seems just, it has its 
faults and does not always accomplish the result desired. 
The trouble is that it deprives the pupil of his playtime 
and all that this means to the growing child, and yet does 
not always punish the guilty party, for it is often the 
parents who are to blame. Some teachers have imposed 
certain tasks such as writing lists of words, or committing 
to memory certain poems or other selections. This is a 
very pernicious custom, for learning should not be classed 
with punishments but be made enjoyable and attractive. 
One may have the pupil make up his lesson as a concession 
on the part of the teacher for the good of the pupil, but 
not as a punishment. In prescribing a punishment for 
tardiness, the teacher should be sure that it is the pupil 
who is to blame and not his parents. Many teachers 
require written excuses from the parents for tardiness. 
This is something of a punishment of parents who have 
to write them. In a rural district where the people are 
not used to this requirement, it will be well for the teacher 
to consult with the board before trying to enforce it. 

(6) Attractions: Some are quite successful in making 
the opening exercises so interesting and so attractive that 
pupils are loath to be absent from them. This may be 
done in various ways. Some read an interesting book, 



190 The Rural School 

others make the opening exercises attractive by having 
a program made up of songs, stories, recitations, current 
events or quotations. This method often succeeds well, 
as it reaches the parents in an indirect way, when they 
are the ones at fault. If one can interest the children, 
through them he will interest the parents also, and thus 
bring about an earlier hour for breakfast. 

Many county superintendents are using perfect at- 
tendance certificates. These consist of three grades of 
certificates: first, those which are given at the end of 
each month to those pupils who have been neither absent 
nor tardy for the month. When any pupil gets six of 
these, the county superintendent issues to this pupil a 
larger certificate. Again, when he has received three or 
four of these large certificates, he may present them to 
the superintendent and receive a large diploma which 
he can frame and keep as a memento. This system has 
been found quite successful in preventing tardiness 
and absence. 

(c) Sentiment: But if the teacher can build up a senti- 
ment for punctuality, he has done something lasting and 
of real benefit to the individual pupils of the school. A 
sentiment can be aroused by presenting the business 
necessity of being punctual. A man once asked for an 
interview with the president. He received the terse tele- 
gram " To-morrow at ten." He had barely time to catch 
his train and arrived in Washington at nine o'clock and 
made his way immediately to the White House. When he 
finally gained admittance to the president's private office 
the clock was striking ten. After his interview, he asked 
the president what would have been the consequence had 
he been late, and was told that he could not have gained 
a hearing, for the president's time was all allotted, and 
^ach one must use his allotted time or be refused an audi- 



Duties of the Teacher 191 

ence for that day, or, perhaps, for several days. The 
earnest presentation of the importance of being on time 
should accompany all efforts for the prevention of tardi- 
ness. It is sometimes a habit that takes time to over- 
come, so that the teacher who does not succeed at first 
should not become discouraged. 

(3) Respect. — The good school is a respectful school, 
respectful to the teacher, respectful to old people, respect- 
ful to one another. One of the first things that an Ameri- 
can boy should learn is to respect the rights of others. 
Some never learn it, and if our country were made up of 
such people, this would be a poor country in which to 
live. The conditions in many homes are not suited to 
teach this lesson in its concrete form. In the common 
schools, where every one is on a common footing, the child 
should early learn this lesson. The playground often 
teaches this lesson in a forcible manner and the teacher 
should see to it that fair play and equal rights are its code. 

In these days of soft discipline, parents are often lax 
with their children and do not require respect for elders; 
indeed, it is often true that the child demands subservi- 
ence to his will. It is said that Dr. Arnold of Rugby per- 
mitted the " fag " system in that school for the good of 
the "fags." These new boys that entered school came from 
homes where they were petted and pampered by servants 
and made to believe that they were " lords of creation." 
They had never worked nor respected the rights of any 
one, they were almost wholly selfish. But when one of 
them entered school he became the " fag " of an upper- 
class man. He blacked his boots, swept his room, carried 
out his slops and ran errands for him. From the cuffs he 
received and the odd jobs he was compelled to do for 
others, he learned that there were others besides himself 
who had rights. Doubtless, Dr. Arnold was right in his 



192 The Rural School 

conclusion that the system was a good thing for the boys 
that entered Rugby; they learned to respect the rights 
of others and became useful citizens, when otherwise they 
might have become sordid bigots. 

(4) Study. — The great business of the school, and 
especially of the rural school, is study, and, if the school 
is not studying, it is not sticking close to business. A 
visitor has but to cast his eyes around in order to deter- 
mine whether the school is working, and, if it is not work- 
ing, something is wrong. The teacher is not requiring 
thorough preparation for the recitation, the conditions 
in the schoolroom are not suitable for study, or there is 
a lack of interest. It is not a good school. It may be dis- 
orderly, not punctual, to some degree disrespectful, and yet 
be a fairly good school; but, if it is not a studious school, 
if it does not work, if it does not think, it misses the very 
thing for which it is being maintained. Lack of studious- 
ness often comes from noise or confusion, from distrac- 
tions from within or without, from the teacher doing the 
greater part of the reciting, from not having a properly 
arranged study program, from lack of enthusiasm on the 
part of the teacher or pupils. 

(5) Enthusiasm. — ■ The good school should be enthu- 
siastic. Naturally enthusiasm must originate with the 
teacher; one can hardly conceive of a school being en- 
thusiastic when the teacher is a '^ dead " teacher or more 
interested in other things than in the school. Interest 
begets interest and enthusiasm begets enthusiasm. The 
way to get an enthusiastic school is for the teacher to be 
enthusiastic himself. A live teacher will develop a live 
school. For, as is oft quoted, '' As the teacher is, so is 
the school." 

(6) Growth. — Finally, the good school will ^e a grow- 
ing school. This may mean that additional pupils will 



Duties of the Teacher 193 

enroll; the older pupils, who thought that they would 
not go to school this winter, will change their minds and 
conclude that as the school is such a good one, they will 
go another term. It may mean that pupils will come from 
other districts when their school has closed. The fame of 
the school has extended beyond the borders of the dis- 
trict and strangers are knocking at the door for admis- 
sion. But it surely does mean that it is growing from 
within; that it is getting better from week to week and 
from month to month; that new plans are being laid and 
new and better regulations are being introduced. It 
means that the school is not dying but is growing; there 
is no half way place, it is either improving or retrograding. 

TO PUPILS 

To Classify Aright. — One of the first duties of the 
teacher is to classify pupils aright. This is sometimes a 
difficult task, for the teacher may not have accurate in- 
formation on which to base a judgment; and, second, 
the pupil and parents ofttimes desire that the pupil be 
put into a class too far advanced for him. In the first 
instance, the teacher will have to suspend judgment for 
the time being, until better information can be obtained. 
This suspension of judgment should be brief, for the 
pupil may be losing precious time. As to the second hin- 
drance, the teacher will try in the most discreet way pos- 
sible to convince, pupil and parent of their mistake in the 
matter, but may in some instances have to go contrary to 
their wishes and put the pupil into the class where he be- 
longs. It is for the best interests of the pupil that he be 
placed in his proper classification. 

To See That Conditions are Favorable for Study. — It 
was said above that the school might not be a studious 



194 The Rural School 

school because conditions were not favorable for study. 
One of the reasons for keeping order in the schoolroom is 
to make conditions so that a pupil can study if he so de- 
sires. Whatever the teacher's ideal of order, discipline 
or quiet may be, this one thing must guide and govern it. 
The writer remembers the instruction of an institute 
teacher of a good many years ago. He said that in his 
room at home he had this motto, '^ Sacred To Study,*' 
and that the order of the room was such that at any time 
during school hours a pupil could come into this room and, 
undisturbed, sit down to study. This is a high ideal 
for the conditions of a schoolroom, but not too high for 
which to strive. 

To Give Judicious Help. — In the process of his work 
a pupil usually comes to a place where he needs some 
help, and it is the mark of a good teacher to know how and 
when to give help. Too much help makes a weakling of a 
student, and not to help at the proper time is likely to 
discourage him. Too often the help is telling or doing the 
work for the pupil. This satisfies the average student, 
but is not judicious, for telling does not insure under- 
standing, and doing the work for another does not indi- 
cate that he can do it afterwards. The judicious teacher 
does not tell, when by questions he can lead the pupil to 
see or work out his problem for himself. As a rule the 
student should be encouraged to go as far as he can with 
his problem or proposition so that the teacher can get his 
line of thought or reasoning; then the teacher can come 
in with a question or two and lead him to complete his 
thought and solve his problem or explain his proposition. 

To Direct Intellectual Growth. — The teacher should 
be interested in the intellectual growth of his pupils. To 
watch the growth, to see that the thinking is logical and 
not biased by prejudice, to see that the will does not over- 



i 



Duties of the Teacher 195 

step the bounds of reason, are parts of the dehcate work 
of the teacher. It is especially in the study of civics, 
history and literature that the teacher can get into the 
inner chambers of the pupil's thinking and learn his bent 
of mind. It is then through judicious direction that his 
mental growth can be cared for. 

To Direct Moral Growth. — Closely connected with 
intellectual growth is moral growth. The pupil's ideas 
of right and wrong, the expression of his moral judg- 
ments, his attitude of mind toward moral issues of coun- 
try, city and school, should all receive the teacher's at- 
tention and direction. The playground is another field 
for the cultivation of moral ideas. The teacher should 
see that its code is a just one. 

To Give Suggestions as to Physical Well-Being. — It 
is in youth that many bad habits of sitting, standing, 
walking, etc., are contracted. Directions about eating, 
sleeping, bathing, etc., should be a part of the program. 
The child with wet feet or clothing should be dried; the 
child with dirty hands or face should be washed; the 
child with " tousled " head should be combed, and his 
foul body bathed. To accomplish this will require much 
tact on the part of the teacher. 

Then the teacher should have a good stock of games 
and plays so that the pupils will not lack for healthy school 
sports and exercises to build up a strong and robust 
physique. " A sound mind in a sound body " is as much 
to be desired to-day as when this statement was first 
uttered. 

To Inspire with Higher Ideals.— The teacher that 
leaves a school and has not left in the minds of the pupils 
a desire for better and higher things has not fulfilled 
all of his mission. Life in a good many of their homes 
is sordid, and they need the touch of a loving hand and 



196 The Rural School 

the comfort of cheering words. This is not merely a 
duty but a privilege and a great opportunity that comes 
especially to the rural teacher. This topic will be found 
treated more at length in the chapter on the Oppor- 
tunity of a Rural Teacher. 

TO THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT 

To Keep Accurate Records,. — The superintendent, 
with officers of higher rank, is interested in compiling and 
reporting school statistics. The apportioning of the 
state school funds is based in various ways on the reports 
of the county superintendent. He depends upon the 
reports he receives from teachers and school officers for 
the data for his report. For this reason he is interested 
that the teacher keep and make out accurate reports. 

To Make All Reports Promptly. — Not only should 
the reports be accurate, but they should be made out 
promptly. It takes no longer to make out the report the 
day it is due than two or three days after, and often it 
can be made out much more easily and more quickly 
while the facts are fresh in mind. For example, a tru- 
ancy report can be made much more readily at the time 
that it is due than a week or ten days later, after the facts 
have been forgotten; then, too, a report made promptly 
is worth much more, for the pupil is losing time from 
school while the teacher is holding the report. It is a 
relief to the teacher to know that his work is done 
promptly, and it commends the teacher to the superin- 
tendent. He would like to have his schools filled with 
teachers who are in the habit of doing things on time, 
for it saves him time and labor. In any business trans- 
action it pays to be prompt. 

To Cooperate in His Plans. — The good superintend- 
ent always has some plans for his schools that he would 



J 



Duties of the Teacher 197 

like to see put into effect. It is through the teachers and 
through them alone that he can put these plans into oper- 
ation. The teacher may not see the need of them, for he 
has not studied the subject as the superintendent has, 
but loyalty to his superior requires him to follow the lead 
of his superintendent. If the superintendent wishes to 
interest the boys in agricultural contests or the girls in 
cooking or sewing contests, it is only when the teachers 
cooperate with him that he can make these a success. 
He looks from a higher elevation and has a broader view 
of the school interests of the county and should be ac- 
cepted as the educational leader. The results can be left 
to his account to be answered for at the next election. 

Following the course of study is important among the 
many things that the live superintendent wants done. 
In some states where this plan has been in operation for 
a number of years, it may be a matter of course; but in 
other states it still needs emphasis. The course of study 
simply outlines the work to be accomplished in a week or 
month, as the case may be, and this can be followed even 
though the school is not well graded. If the school is not 
graded, it is desirable that it should be, but this cannot 
be accomplished all in a day without great detriment to 
individual pupils. It should be a gradual pushing for- 
ward in the subjects in which the class is behind and a 
letting up in those studies in which the class is in advance 
of grade. 

By this process, the school should be quite well 
graded in two or three years. Of course, the new 
pupils should never get out of grade. The teacher owes 
it, not only to the superintendent but also to the edu- 
cational interests of the county, to follow the course of 
study and grade the school as it can be done without 
detriment to the pupils. 



198 The Rural School 

TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD 

The teacher should consider that he is one of the neigh- 
borhood and should lend his assistance for the upbuilding 
of its every interest, social, intellectual and moral. What 
he can do depends very much upon the conditions and 
needs of the neighborhood. It may be that the young 
people very much need a leader in their social affairs. 
Then the teacher who knows how to lead an evening 
gathering and entertain a house full of young people in 
unobjectionable amusements, has a rare opportunity of 
uplifting these young people and leading them into the 
enjoyment of a pleasant and helpful pastime. We are 
social beings and must mingle, one sex with the other, but 
a sharp line should be drawn between improper associa- 
tions, and those which are innocent and healthful. For- 
tunate is the district that employs a teacher who can 
discern between the bad and the good, the better and the 
best, in social life. 

Again, the neighborhood may be ready for advanced 
steps in agriculture, domestic science or hygienic condi- 
tions of the home. The teacher who knows how and is 
willing to help bring about these conditions can be of 
great service to the neighborhood. This is the age for 
the improvement of country life, and the teacher should 
be in the advance guard of the procession. With dis- 
cretion and tact, the teacher can give many valuable 
hints of how the homes may be beautified and made 
more sanitary; how some of the drudgery may be avoided 
and the health and happiness of the family be improved; 
how life may be stripped of its sordidness and be made 
useful and happy in serving others. 

By placing himself on friendly terms with the people 
of the community, -the teacher can often receive as well 



Duties of the Teacher 199 

as give information. The boy or girl who goes from town 
into the country to teach school has a good many things 
to learn and can well afford to listen to those who know 
more about country life and rural conditions than one 
who has been brought up in town can possibly know. 
Wrapped up in the rough exterior of many an old farmer 
is a generous supply of good common sense, and, if the 
young teacher can get the use of this free of cost, it will 
be courteous and wise to receive it and use it. 

TO SELF 

In all this multiplicity of duties the teacher must not 
forget his duty to himself. He has his health to preserve, 
for no one who has lost health can do the work of a suc- 
cessful teacher. He must have some time for himself to 
improve his mentality and to grow in vigor of mind as 
well as in vigor of body. But all of this attention to self 
must have in it an altruistic spirit. The thought upper- 
most should be, ''I am here to serve this neighborhood 
and I must do nothing to impair me for that service." 

REFERENCES 

Dinsmore, Teaching a District School {chapter 2). 1908. 
American Book Co., $1.00. 

Seeley, New School Management {chapter 18). 1903. 
Hinds, $1.25. 



Chapter XVIH 

THE OPPORTUNITY OF A RURAL TEACHER 

THE LESSER OPPORTUNITIES 

To Earn a Salary. — To the average 'person starting 
out to teach a rural school, it is an opportunity to make 
forty or fifty dollars a month, and to some this is really 
and truly an opportunity. This may be the first time in 
their lives that they have had the privilege of earning some 
money for themselves. Merely to be able to buy a good 
suit of clothes often gives a man new confidence in him- 
self and higher ambitions in hfe. 

A Stepping-Stone. — To others it is an opportunity for 
eking out an existence while they are preparing for some 
other occupation, — studying law or medicine. The 
teacher of a large country school has a rare opportunity 
to learn something and to learn it thoroughly. There is 
no better place to get an accurate knowledge of the com- 
mon branches than in a district school. Many a young 
person has testified to the fact that he learned more the 
first year of teaching than in any previous year of his life. 
While teaching a country school and earning a comfort- 
able hving, many a young man has prepared himself for 
the study of medicine or law. 

The making of the rural school a stepping-stone to some 
other profession has been to the great detriment of the 
schools. Teaching the school becomes a secondary mat- 
ter and the school does not receive the best thought of 

200 



The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher 201 

the teacher. Until the school shall receive the best the 
teacher has to give, both in thought and interest, the 
school will suffer and not reach a very high standard. 
The rural schools have been suffering from this practice 
more than the city schools, for teachers are " tried out " 
in the rural schools and, if they prove successful and want 
to continue the work, the chances are that they will find 
a position in some village or city school. This practice 
has resulted in the cities getting the experienced teachers 
and those who have fitted themselves for the work, while 
the rural schools have so far been compelled to take 
the remainder. 

THE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES 

To Teach a Good School. — The first great opportu- 
nity for the person who goes out into the country to teach, 
is to teach a good school. With so many young, inexperi- 
enced teachers, with so many teaching just for the money, 
and with those who are making school-teaching a step- 
ping-stone to some. other profession and giving only a 
part of their energies to the school work, the rural schools 
are sadly in need of good teachers, teachers who know how 
to teach and are willing to put their life and energy into 
it. One of these schools which has seldom or never had a 
really good teacher will appreciate intelligent and inspir- 
ing work in the schoolroom. 

To Inspire to High Ideals. — A greater opportunity 
than has thus far been indicated lies in the finding of boys 
and girls and inspiring them to higher ideals and aspira- 
tions. A farmer may be found in the geography class, a 
physician in the physiology class, an artist in the drawing 
classes, etc. After all, the great work of the teacher is 
inspirational, and the teacher who can lay his hand on 
the shoulder of a boy and inspire him to a great future. 



202 The Rural School 

has done more than the one who has taught him how to 
solve every problem in the arithmetic. 

He will not have failed, if he has found one boy and 
placed his feet on the solid rock of a nobler ambition. 
The story of how Miss — — asked John to stay after 
school one night illustrates the point at hand. John was 
asked to remain after school. He stayed and pondered 
what he would say when he was confronted with some of 
his misdemeanors, but judge his surprise when the teacher, 
after all were gone, stepped up to him and said, " John, 
I want you to go to college." That is the idea; inspiration 
pure and simple is what lasts and is still working when 
the knowledge of textbooks becomes '' ancient and for- 
gotten lore." 

Then too, the boys and girls of the country are the ones 
who are ready and willing to receive this inspiration. 
The boys of town have so many opportunities, and at 
the same time so many temptations, that they are not so 
susceptible to good influences. 

Extension of Teacher's Influence. — The teacher's 
sphere of work need not be limited to the school. The 
whole neighborhood may be in need of some one to lead 
them out of their sordid hves into higher and more com- 
plete living. This may be accomplished through a moth- 
er's club, a literary club, or social entertainments. Tact 
and good judgment are necessary to determine what is 
best to be done. It is quite plain that the teacher should 
become one of the neighborhood and take an interest in 
its welfare and enlightenment. Jean Mitchell (see " Jean 
Mitchell's School " by Wray) succeeded in making the 
school the social center of the neighborhood and inter- 
esting all in the work of the school. 

Making the school the source of inspiration for civic and 
social uplift is not the dream of an enthusiast nor the 



The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher 203 

story of a fluent writer, but it has actually been worked 
out by rural teachers in various states. 



WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED BY TEACHERS IN 
COUNTRY SCHOOLS 

From the fact that the three R's have dominated the 
rural curriculum for so long a time, too many teachers 
have come to think that nothing out of the regular rou- 
tine can be accomplished in a one-teacher school. But 
to all who think in this way, we commend a careful study 
of what has been done by these several teachers. 

In Kansas. — Mrs. Emily K. Hoelcel has been able, 
through energy, enthusiasm and hard work, to accom- 
plish many things usually thought to be impossible in a 
one-teacher school. While the equipment with which 
she had to work was better than is often found in a 
country school, yet very much of it can be had, if the 
teacher has the will, and most of it Mrs. Hoelcel would 
have wherever she might teach. It was a large, clean, 
roomy schoolhouse, freshly painted on the exterior and 
in the interior, but not a modern building. At the en- 
trance of the building was a hall. To the right in this 
hall the teacher had placed two benches and tools for 
manual training; to the left, a water stand with indi- 
vidual drinking cups numbered and hung above, a wash 
place, and a dinner pail stand. 

There were seven fine pictures on the walls, a large 
case of maps, a globe, a dictionary, liquid and dry meas- 
ures, a cupboard for seat-work material and tools, a 
bookcase with three hundred volumes, an organ, a teach- 
er's table, two chairs and a blackened stove. The teach- 
er's table contained loan pencils (cleaned daily), ink, 
pen, a tray of pins, a magazine for the boys and one for 



204 The Rural School 

the girls, a clock and always a vase of flowers, also the 
necessary books for recitations. 

There were all grades, excepting the second grade. 
All classes recited daily with few exceptions. By a wise 
adjustment of her program the teacher was able to give 
twenty minutes to a number of her classes and fifteen to 
many others. During part of the opening exercises music 
was taught three times a week and rote song twice a 
week. After dinner a period of twenty minutes was 
devoted to reading by the teacher, the telling of stories, 
or the discussion of topics in agriculture. Drawing was 
done incidentally in all grades as seat work. 

The mind of the good teacher is of the same type as 
that of the general. It marshals the troops and finds a 
place and work for each one. In this school no one was 
idle. The little people had seat work, in the direction 
of which the teacher was assisted by older pupils. They 
in their turn did some kind of handwork, basketry, 
sewing, domestic science, manual training, or helped with 
the care and management of the schoolhouse. 

In the domestic science class an outhne of recipes was 
followed which varied with the months. For instance, 
September and October lessons included the canning 
of fruits, making of relishes, preserves and fruit butters. 
For some of the work the girls furnished the material 
and each one supplied the necessary utensils. After a 
course of twenty lessons in domestic science was finished 
the girls took up a regular course in sewing, consisting 
of the different kinds of stitches, gathering, different 
kinds of seams and fancy stitches. The final test of this 
work was shown upon towels, aprons, handkerchiefs, 
and many other useful articles. 

Lessons in manual training were given on Tuesday 
afternoons from three to four o'clock. During this hour 



The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher 205 

the boys were given instruction and advice upon all 
points that might have come up during the week in regard 
to their work. All errors in handling tools were cor- 
rected. Difficulties anticipated were clearly explained 
so that the class could continue work during their spare 
moments in the afternoons without the teacher's atten- 
tion. The drawing of their pieces was done during spare 
moments. During the eight-month term each pupil of 
the ninth grade, besides completing his school work, 
made ten pieces: a bread board, a coat hanger, a foot- 
stool, etc. On rainy days the spare time at noon was 
devoted to this work. The fourth and fifth grades com- 
pleted five small pieces in wood whittling. 

The board paid the school for doing the janitor work, 
and this money went into the '' pupils' fund." With this 
money and that obtained from entertainments, pictures 
and other adornments for the schoolhouse were pur- 
chased, as well as the oil stove, oil and some of the uten- 
sils for the domestic science classes. Sweeping, dusting, 
building of fires, fetching of water, etc., were closely 
linked with the domestic economy program. Each one 
did his share and took his turn. When playtime came, 
there were games and plays, in which both teacher and 
pupils took a lively interest. Nor was ethics neglected, 
for each day brought its lessons of politeness, truthful- 
ness, kindness, etc. Twice a month the mothers met, 
and together with the teacher, studied some good book 
on Child Study, etc. A '' Children's Hour,'' a " Mothers' 
Day," a '' Fathers' Day " and a '' Parents' Day " linked 
the school with the home and made every patron feel an 
added interest in the school and a new courage for 
life's duties. 

Decorating the Schoolroom for Festivals. — Incidental 
ways in which the schoolhouse can be made a community 



206 



The Rural School 




A SCHOOLROOM DECORATED FOR THANKSGIVING 



center have often been demonstrated. Especial oppor- 
tunities for identifying the school with the social life of 
the community are afforded on the occasion of some fes- 
tival. The following is a description of the way in which 
Mrs. Hoelcel's pupils decorated their schoolroom for 
Hallowe'en. This plan of decoration would be suitable 
for any festival of the autumn. 

A window was assigned to each class. The smaller 
classes aided by making chains, baskets, lanterns, etc. 
The teacher gave the pupils an idea of what was desired. 
Pupils discussed their suggestions and ideas with the 
teacher before putting them into effect. 

The windows had dark olive green shades and pretty 
white curtains. Window number one was decorated in 
evergreen sprays intertwined into the edges of curtains 
to their full length, A triangular effect of evergreea 



The Opportunity of . a Rural Teacher 207 





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ANOTHER VIEW OF THE SAME SCHOOLROOM 

was carried out over the lower sash. Upon the window 
sill was a bed of sand filled with shells, and amid the 
shells stood a small globe of goldfish. 

Window number two contained kaffir corn stalks of 
different lengths filled in on both sides. Where the 
stalks met a jack-o'-lantern was placed. Upon this 
window sill different kinds of ears of corn were placed, 
also a few squashes. 

Window number three contained stalks of corn with 
ears arranged like the kaffir corn. This was somewhat 
softened by bunches of asparagus tops. Upon the sill 
were placed different kinds of apples. 

Window number four was decorated much as number 
one only in buck-brush and asparagus green. Upon the 
window sill were vases containing flowers, with autumn 
leaves bunched prettily about them. 




[208] 



The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher 209 

Window number five belonged entirely to the two 
primary grades. The chains and baskets were hung in 
festoons across the window underneath the curtains. 
Upon the curtains all kinds of paper jack-o'-lanterns 
were pinned. The window sill was filled with evergreen, 
among which gourds with carved faces peeped at the 
audience. 

The lamp brackets were twined with evergreen and 
bittersweet vines. The pictures were decorated with 
flags and bunting. Pictures may be borrowed tempo- 
rarily to carry out the idea of the day. 

In Louisiana. — Mr. E. C. Bott of Natchitoches parish 
was sent by the Parish Board to take charge of Cedron 
ConsoKdated School. When he came into the district 
in the early summer of 1911 he found no dwelling in 
which to house his family. However, the board gave 
him permission to move his family into the new school- 
house while he and his two sons made over into a dwell- 
ing for the teacher the two old schoolhouses which had 
been moved to the new school site. When the school 
opened in September twenty pupils came in the dis- 
trict's wagonette, others on horseback, and on foot, until, 
before the year closed, all but three of school age in the 
district had presented themselves for enrollment. 

The houses having been erected in the midst of a forest 
of young pines, there was no playground, so teacher and 
pupils with axes and spades cut down the trees and dug 
up the roots, thus clearing about three acres, enough for 
playground, school garden and dooryard for the dwelling. 

Not the least interesting feature of this remarkable 
school was the school garden. The pupils cleared the 
ground, built the fence and planted the seeds. In one 
corner of this garden a hotbed was made in which tomato 
and cabbage plants were started for the school garden 



210 



The Rural School 




THE teacher's DWELLING 




A neighbor's dwelling 



The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher 211 



^s.;*^'' 



Wimmmvi^ 






THE CEDRON SCHOOL GARDEN 



and for the tomato clubs of the neighborhood. The 
beans and peas raised here were the earhest and best 
of any in that vicinity, as were the tomatoes and cab- 
bages. In every respect this garden was the best in all 
that neighborhood and was an object lesson for the 
community. By means of this garden, not only were 
the pupils instructed in gardening, nature study and ele- 
mentary agriculture, but also fifteen or twenty dollars 
were made for the school, to be expended for books or 
other school supplies. 

Among the girls of the school, sixteen were organized 
into a tomato club to raise tomatoes at home. They 
were instructed in school how to prepare the soil, how to 
fertilize and set out the plants. As soon as the season 
had opened, the plants in the school hotbed were large 
enough to set out From this bed, plants were furnished 
not only to pupils of the school but to all persons in the 
neighborhood who desired them. 



212 



The Rural School 




TEACHER S HOGS 



The teacher brought with him two pure bred O. I. C. 
hogs. From this start spme eight or ten pure bred hogs 
have been distributed throughout the vicinity. A ^' Pig 
Club " of three pupils was organized. The original 
" Razor Back " is doomed in that vicinity. 

Four boys decided to put their energy into raising corn. 
As a result of this club work, an intense interest in agri- 
culture, gardening and general community improve- 
ment was aroused. This interest culminated in many 
competitions at the parish fair. 

Mr. Bott organized a literary society which was well 
attended, and he aroused much interest in civic affairs. 
He organized a Sunday school, a mutual telephone com- 
pany and a canning company, which canned the tomatoes, 
corn, etc., raised in the school garden and by club mem- 
bers and others of the community. 



The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher 213 




THE ORIGINAL "RAZOR BACK IS DOOMED 



It is hard to estimate the worth and influence of this 
school and its teacher upon the neighborhood; for every 
one in the whole vicinity has been awakened, been aroused 
to new effort. They are seeing visions, dreaming dreams. 
Before the coming of the teacher and the consolidated 
school there was no life, no ambition to do more than 
they had. been doing for years. They were making a 
bare living and did not expect to do more. Now they 
believe they can raise anything that grows out of doors. 
The prospects are that there will be forty acres of 
tomatoes planted next year, and that the capacity of 
the canning plant will have to be more than doubled. 

The idea that they can raise better hogs is spreading 
and the young men for miles around are seeking for a 
start of pure bred pigs. The teacher brought with him 
a pure bred Jersey cow. There is grass and pasture 
going to waste and the introdilction of this cow may 



214 The Rural School 

serve as an object lesson which will lead to the estab- 
lishment of a creamery. 

The people of this community know now that they can 
raise other products besides cotton. They will be the 
first to eradicate the benumbing influence of the hook- 
worm and will come to the front educationally, socially 
and economically. 

All this Mr. Bott accomplished because of his energy 
and spirit, and because he knew what was needfed to 
be done in that vicinity. When he entered the community 
there were dissensions and factions among neighbors, 
but he succeeded in interesting all for the common good 
of the neighborhood and for the upbuilding of a common 
interest. There are many other neighborhoods ready to 
be led to better things economically, socially and morally, 
when the teacher can be found who can lead them. 

Very httle of what has been accomplished in the Cedron 
Consolidated School could have been done had not the 
teacher lived on the school grounds. To make the school 
a community center and inspiration for better country 
life, the teacher must not be a transient, he must be not 
merely a nominal resident, but an actual member of the 
community. 

In Iowa. — That a teacher can create an interest in 
remodeling and decorating the school grounds even 
where no interest has been manifested before, is forcibly 
shown by what was accomplished by Mrs. Huftalen, now 
county superintendent of Page County, Iowa. She says: 
" In 1903 I began in a nearly new schoolhouse at Oneida 
in the northeastern part of Iowa. The school ground was 
literally covered with debris of various kinds, including 
heaps of earth and ashes, sticks and stones galore, weeds, 
some grass and a hub-deep mud hole in front of the porch. 
On the inside there was a spirit of grumbling, misde- 



The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher 215 

meanor and rebellion. For ornament there were three 
meaningless newspaper prints posted on the walls. Other- 
wise the room was light and cheery and well heated with 
a furnace, which gave us warm floors. 

" Although the pupils were loud, restless and rude, in a 
short time they were led to turn this worse than wasted 
energy of youth to industrious pursuits and intelligent 
cooperation. During the five years of my stay in this 
school, the ash heaps were removed to the hillside gutter, 
the dirt mounds were carted to fill hollows and to make a 
raised flower bed which was bordered by the waste stones, 
eighty-four trees were planted, an octagonal arbor twelve 
feet in diameter was constructed of discarded telephone 
poles and chicken wire and an arch bearing the name of 
the school, " Arbor Vitae Summit," was erected in front. 
The grass was kept mowed during the summer. No 
mark or scratches of any kind were to be found in either 
of the outhouses, which were scrubbed often. 

" With money raised by school socials a large bell was 
purchased and placed in a belfry. Besides this, we bought 
a flag, bat and ball, books, pictures, etc." 

Mrs. Huftalen believes in play as well as work for chil- 
dreUj for while teaching in another school at Norwich she 
speaks of securing for this place, a sandpile, swings, see- 
saws, volley ball, tennis net, croquet and an iron Maypole. 

Besides these, there were placed on this school ground 
a waUed terrace 48 by 97 feet for a playground, flower beds 
bordered with cement, an arch with seats, trees and two 
outbuildings, the best in the county. 

AH this was accomplished through efforts of a teacher, 
whose capital was energy, enthusiasm and an intense 
devotion to the cause of education. 

In Washington; The Noon Lunch. — Professor Virgil E. 
Dickson of the State Normal School at Cheney has started 



216 The Rural School 

a movement which is worthy of consideration and imita- 
tion. Its application is possible in almost any school 
where children bring a cold lunch. The plan is something 
as follows. Some provision is made for a stove and a few 
dishes and cooking utensils. The stove may be an oil 
burner, rented or borrowed, and the dishes may be loaned 
by the patrons whose children bring their dinners. 

The noon lunch may be managed in some such manner 
as Professor Dickson described to the author. He said: 

Sometime before noon, two girls went into a little room 
and started the noon dish, which for this day was vege- 
table soup. Just before close of school for noon, these 
same two girls, without any directions from the teacher, 
again went and finished preparing this hot dish for the 
noon meal. When school was dismissed, each child got 
his lunch basket, found his place to eat, took from his 
basket a paper napkin and spread it upon his desk. On 
this he placed his lunch, using his napkin as a tablecloth. 
He also provided himself with a small doily on which to 
set a dish of hot soup. He now set aside his basket. 
The two girls served each one with a dish of the hot soup, 
and all sat and ate like a large family. 

This gave an opportunity for social conversation, 
some lessons in table manners and suggestions as to what 
were good things for a cold dinner. No one was expected 
to leave until all had finished; so there was none of the 
usual unseemly haste of a school lunch. When the meal 
was finished, the girls removed the dishes, washed them 
and put them away. 

Do pupils like this way? So much that they would not 
go back to the old plan after it has been tried. Do they 
not get tired of soup every day? They doubtless would 
but for the fact that soup is not served every day. One 
day it will be a cup of hot cocoa, a dish of rice or hominy 



The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher 217 

or a dish of hot bean soup. How about the cost? It is 
very Uttle, about one cent a dish. Each teacher will have 
to meet the expense in his own way. Sometimes the 
board will furnish the money needed, other times each 
pupil will contribute five cents a week, and again, the 
teacher will give an entertainment and raise the amount 
of money needed. 

The social and refining influence of a noon lunch con- 
ducted properly, to say nothing of its hygienic value, 
commends it to the attention of every thoughtful teacher. 
Through it the teacher may reach every home in the dis- 
trict with a refining and uplifting influence. 

In Oregon; A Way to Unite School and Home. — There 
has been much admonition on the part of educators 
urging the union of the interests of school and home; 
but no one has succeeded so well in solving this 
problem as L. R. Alderman, formerly State Super- 
intendent of Oregon. In his little pamphlet, " School 
Industrial Credit for Home Industrial Work," he says: 
" The idea of giving school credit for home work first 
occurred to me nine years ago, when I was a school princi- 
pal. I had noticed that one of my rosiest-cheeked, most 
vigorous appearing girls spent much time on the streets 
after school. One day Mary's mother was pointed out to 
me. She was a pale, nervous little woman with several 
children. . Knowing that the family was not well-to-do I 
felt myself, burning with indignation at the circumstances 
that were drawing Mary away from interest in her home. 
I thought, ' What is the use of my teaching that girl al- 
gebra and general history, when what she most needs to 
be taught is that her mother is her best friend and needs 
her help? ' 

At the algebra recitation the next day I announced 
that the lesson for the following day would consist of ten 



218 The Rural School 

problems as usual, but that five would be in the book, and 
five out of the book. The five out of the book would con- 
sist for the girls in helping cook supper, helping to do up 
the kitchen work after supper, preparing breakfast, help- 
ing with the dishes and kitchen work after breakfast and 
putting a bedroom in order. When I asked for ' hands 
up ' on all the problems the following day, I noticed that 
Mary kept her hand raised after the others were down. 
' What is it? ' I asked. ' I worked five in advance,' 
she replied with sparkling eyes. ' I worked five ahead in 
the book, besides the ten that you gave us.' From that 
time Mary's interest in all school work was doubled. She 
was right up in the first rank." 

Ex-Superintendent Alderman's account of what is be- 
ing done by an Oregon teacher in a rural school reads as 
follows: ''A. I. O'Reilly, a young man who is just com- 
pleting his third year at the Spring Valley school, a coun- 
try district in Polk County, determined last September 
(1911) to test the plan of giving credit to his pupils for the 
work they did at home. He went to his directors, and se- 
cured their promise to give money from the general school 
fund to be awarded to the pupils earning the most credit 
in a home-work contest. He then proceeded to work out 
his plans, the contest idea being original with him." 

The duties for which home credit is offered and the 
amount of credit for each are as follows: 

" Building fire in the morning, 5 minutes; milking a cow, 
5 minutes; cleaning out the barn, 10 minutes; splitting 
and carrying in wood (12 hours' supply), 10 minutes; 
turning cream separator, 10 minutes; cleaning horse, 
each horse, 10 minutes; gathering eggs, 10 minutes; feed- 
ing chickens, 5 minutes; feeding pigs, 5 minutes; feeding 
horse, 5 minutes; feeding cows, 5 minutes; churning, 10 
minutes; making butter, 10 minutes; blacking stove, 5 



The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher 219 

minutes; making and baking bread, 1 hour; making 
biscuits, 10 minutes; preparing the breakfast for family, 
30 minutes; preparing supper for family, 30 minutes; 
washing and wiping dishes, one meal, 15 minutes; sweep- 
ing floor, 5 minutes; dusting furniture, cleaning rugs, etc., 
one room, 5 minutes; scrubbing floor, 20 minutes; ma- 
king beds, each bed, 5 minutes; washing, ironing and 
starching own clothes that are worn at school, each week, 
2 hours; bathing, each bath, 30 minutes; arriving at 
school with clean hands, face, teeth and nails, and with 
hair combed, 10 minutes; practicing music lesson (for 
thirty minutes), 10 minutes; retiring on or before 9 
o'clock, 5 minutes; bathing and dressing baby, 10 min- 
utes; sleeping with window boards in bedroom, each night, 
5 minutes; other work not listed, reasonable credit." 

The conditions and rules of the home credit contest 
are given here: 

1. No pupil is obliged to enter the contest. 

2. Any pupil entering is free to retire from contest at 
any time, but if any one does so without good cause all 
credits he or she may have earned will be forfeited. 

3. Parent or guardian must send an itemized list (with 
signature affixed) to the teacher each morning. This list 
must contain record of work each child has done daily. 

4. Each day teacher will issue a credit voucher to the 
pupil. This voucher will state the total number of 
minutes due the pupil each day for honle work. 

5. At the close of the contest pupils will return vouchers 
to teacher, the six pupils who have earned the greatest 
amount of time, per the vouchers, receiving awards. 

6. Contest closes when term of school closes. 

7. Once each month the names of the six pupils who 
are in the lead will be published in the county papers. 

8. Ten per cent credit will be added to final examina- 



220 The Rural School 

tion results of all pupils (except pupils of the eighth grade) 
who enter and continue in the contest. 

9. When pupil has credits to the amount of one day 
earned) by surrender of the credits and proper application 
to teacher he may be granted a holiday, provided not 
more than one holiday be granted to a pupil each month. 

10. Forfeitures: dropping out of contest without 
cause, all credits due; unexcused absence, all credits due; 
unexcused tardiness, 25 per cent off all credits due; less 
than 90 per cent in deportment, 10 per cent off all credits. 

11. Awards: three having highest credits, |3 each; 
three having second highest credits, $2 each. Awards 
to be placed in a savings bank to the credit of the pupil 
winning them. Funds for awards furnished by the school 
district board out of general fund. 

All of Mr. O'Reilly's pupils, thirty-one in number, 
entered the contest with the vim and eagerness for which 
children are noted, and have faithfully kept up their home 
work throughout the year. The parents have cooperated 
by sending in the lists of work done by the children at 
home. Every morning Mr. O'Reilly receives these notes, 
which are usually written by the children and signed by 
the parents. Here are a few samples of parents' reports: 

Flora Mortensen, 

April 17, 1912. MiN. 

Fed the chickens " 5 

Gathered the eggs . . 15 

Set the table 5 

Wiped the dishes 5 

Tended flowers 20 

Swept one floor 5 

Was in bed before 9 5 

Washed teeth 10 

Prepared one lunch 5 

Total 75 



The Opportunity of a Rural Teacher 221 

Henry Davidson, 

April 17, 1912. Min. 

Milked cows 20 

Curried horses 10 

Hunted eggs 10 

Fed chickens 10 

Fed horses 10 

Fed pigs 10 

Fed cows 10 

Cut wood 10 

To bed before 9 5 

Total 95 

So far as is known to the author, no better plan has been 
devised for connecting the school and home than that set 
forth by Superintendent Alderman. It commends itself 
in that pupils will be given an interest in home duties and 
be brought to realize that an education is not for the pur- 
pose of freeing oneself from work. It will give the parents 
a more vital interest in the school, as they see it aiding 
with the every-day duties of the home. This plan is 
worthy the thoughtful consideration and a careful judi- 
cious trial on the part of every experienced teacher. 

But some one says, for much of this I am not paid, nor 
is it in my contract. While this is true, yet, if the teacher 
is not working just for the money and wants to know how 
best he can invest his life while teaching a district school, 
here is his opportunity. 

REFERENCES 

Butterfield, Chapters in Rural Progress {chapter 8). 
University of Chicago Press, $1.25. 

Field, The Corn Lady. A. Flanagan & Co., 50c. 

Wilson, The Church in the Open Country. Missionary 
Movement of United States and Canada. New York. 

Wray, Jean Mitchell's School. Public School Publish- 
ing Company, Bloomington, 111., $1.00. 



Chapter XIX 

CONSOLIDATION 
CHANGED CONDITIONS 

Doubtless many a thinking teacher has asked himself, 
if no one else, " Why this need of consolidation? Why 
were not the districts made large in the first place and 
left so? " In reply to these questions it may be said 
that conditions have changed. In the early days the 
cities had not improved their schools to the present 
state of efficiency, and the one-room school in the country 
was more nearly on a par with the village school near by. 
But the concentration of people and wealth into the 
cities and towns and the successful operation of the 
graded school system has left the one-room rural school 
of our forefathers far behind. The contrast between the 
two is great, and it is greatly to the humiliation of the 
rural school. 

Not that a oW-room school is necessarily a poor school, 
nor that a country school is by reason of that one fact a 
poor school; but a small school is, and always has been a 
poor school. In early days families were large and pro- 
portionately more people lived in the country than now. 
Consequently the schools were larger. In almost any 
county may be found a schoolhouse that was built to 
accommodate fifty children which now has an attendance 
of less than ten. Some one may ask where the children 
are? The only answer is that they are gone. To be sure, 

222 



Consolidation 223 

occasionally there is a schoolhouse that is full, but the 
crowded schoolrooms are in the cities and villages. The 
children are not in the country as they used to be. 

ORIGIN OF THE DISTRICT UNIT 

Although the above is true, it is possible that the in- 
dependent district was a mistake in the first place. Origi- 
nally, in New England, the township was the school and 
governmental unit. By an ordinance in 1647, Massa- 
chusetts decreed that '' Every township after the Lord 
has increased them to fifty housekeepers, shall then forth- 
with appoint one within their own to^vn to teach all such 
children as shall resort to him to write and read." At 
that time the church parish and the governmental unit 
were one and their interests were the same. Of course, 
education was largely under the control of the church, 
and so long as the church unit and the governmental unit 
were the same and harmonious, it was all right; but when 
other denominations began to come into a town and to 
hold independent church services, they wanted to control 
the schooling of their children. This gradually led to 
giving the control of schools into the hands of committee- 
men for independent districts. 

In 1789 Massachusetts incorporated the district system 
into its revised code. Horace Mann said regarding 
"' school districts " that it was the most disastrous fea- 
ture in the whole history of educational legislation in 
Massachusetts. From this it seems that this great edu- 
cator was never pleased with the independent district 
unit. It must be understood that at times and places 
these districts have been entirely independent, having 
power to hold school or not as they pleased and to hire 
such teachers as suited their caprice. In some cases they 



224 The Rural School 

would have one term of school in three or four years. 
But now, in Kansas, for example, if the school district 
neglect or refuse to have a term of school or to provide 
schooling for the children of the district, it becomes the 
duty of the county superintendent to step in and provide 
a school for these children and charge the expense to 
the district. In these old-time districts, the school com- 
mittee would examine the teacher, and make suggestions 
as to methods of conducting the school and governing the 
pupils; in fact, they were school board and county super- 
intendent combined. 

EVILS OF THE DISTRICT SYSTEM 

The above is the independent district carried to its 
fullest extent; and this idea of local self-government has 
so captivated the American people that the district system 
of school control has engrafted itself upon a large number 
of the states of the Union, and school people have been 
fighting its evils ever since the days of Horace Mann. 

Taxation. — These evil results are various. First, the 
small unit is not equitable when it comes to raising money 
by taxation. It is a principle of our free school system 
that the property shall pay the expenses of running the 
schools; but it is said that one third of the property of 
Massachusetts is within a radius of ten miles around Bos- 
ton. It is hardly possible that one third of the schools 
of Massachusetts are within this radius. In many ways 
it can be shown that the large unit is more just when it 
comes to raising money for schools by taxation. 

Need of Supervision. — Then again, it has been im- 
possible for all the schools to get teachers who were pro- 
ficient in school management and methods in teaching; 
in other words, teachers who do not need supervision. 



Consolidation 225 

In other ways also it has been found that an expert in 
education can be of great service to the individual school, 
and this has led to school supervision. Supervision in 
turn calls for a larger unit, the city, the county, and the 
state; it is too expensive for the small unit. While neither 
taxation nor supervision has been settled satisfactorily 
to the school interests of the country, yet the tendency 
is all toward the larger unit, toward consolidation. 

Lack of Social Contact. — The social element is such a 
factor in all school hfe that segregation becomes wither- 
ing in its influence, while aggregation and consolidation 
are stimulating and helpful. In many ways it can be 
shown that the small school is a poor school, but es- 
pecially in its lack of social opportunities. Persons learn 
from each other. The contact of mind with mind is one 
of the best ways of learning. Travel, coming into con- 
tact with many people in a social or business way, gives 
a breadth of character, culture and understanding that is 
not obtained from books or study. The society events 
and social intercourse of a large school are in themselves 
a great educational factor and a source of much profit 
to the young man or woman that comes in from a rural 
community. 

THE LARGER UNIT 

Progress of Movement. — Although consolidation of 
school districts has been advocated for a good many years 
and Horace Mann succeeded in consohdating the dis- 
tricts of a number of townships in Massachusetts, yet 
it was not until the Committee of Twelve made its report 
to the National Educational Association (1896) that it 
was brought prominently before the people of the country. 
Since then many states have authorized consolidation by 
law, and quite a little has been accomplished in this time. 



226 The Rural School 

The consolidation of school districts is but another 
form of '^ centralizing tendencies," as Mr. Boone calls 
them in his " History of Education " which we have 
mentioned elsewhere. It is getting back to a larger unit 
for the school proper. It is not claimed that this should 
be the unit for supervision and taxation; perhaps the 
state and county for supervision, and the township, 
county and state for taxation, are about the ideals of 
educators of the present time. 

Social Value. — As has been said before, the small 
school is, as a rule, a poor school. The social element is 
lacking, and the larger boys and girls will not attend. 
There is a lack of emulation, and the pupils and classes 
do not do their best work. In a small school there is no 
class spirit, there is no school spirit. Consolidation 
brings a larger number of pupils together and makes a 
good school possible. 

Economy. — Often it is a matter of economy to con- 
solidate a number of districts. It frequently happens 
that a number of schools in a locality are all small, eight 
to twelve pupils each. Sometimes four or five of these 
schools may be combined and taught by half the former 
number of teachers. Much, also, can be saved in the 
expense of fuel, apparatus, etc. 

The matter of economy would commend consolidation 
to the rural communities, and especially to those that are 
sparsely settled, were it not for the difficulty of getting 
pupils to and from the schoolhouse, which, from the nature 
of things, must be located at some distance from many 
of the homes. The solution proposed for this problem 
is what is known as Transportation. A number of routes 
are laid out covering the district, wagons are bought by 
the district, and drivers are hired to gather up the chil- 
dren in the morning and bring them to the schoolhouse. 



Consolidation 227 

At night these same routes are retraced and each child 
is left at his own home. 

Objections and Answers. — There seem to be serious 
objections offered by those who should be most directly 
interested and who would be most benefited if the plan 
of consolidation should prove a success. We quote the 
following among the prominent objections offered: 

1. " Depreciation of property; decreased valuation of 
farms in districts where schools have been closed." 

This seems to be imaginary, as experience has proved 
the contrary to be true. Land values have increased 
more in the consolidated district than in a neighboring 
district of the old type. 

2. " Dislike to send children to school far from home, 
away from the oversight of parents." 

This also is a myth, for under consolidation children are 
better cared for than under the old system, and now that 
there are the telephones, in cases of sickness the child 
can be more readily relieved and the parent can be more 
quickly notified than if they were under the conditions 
of the old-fashioned district school. (See reports of 
Superintendent H. S. Gilhams, page 229, and of Dean of 
Department of Agriculture of the University of Illinois, 
page 230.) 

3. ''Danger to health and morals: children obliged 
to travel too far in cold stormy weather; obliged to walk 
a portion of the way to meet the team, and then to ride 
to school in damp clothing and with wet feet." 

As to health and morals, the consolidated school has 
every advantage over the old custom. In bad weather 
it is certainly better to ride than to trudge through mud 
or cold a mile and a half or more. The moral conditions 
under a poor driver will never be worse, and under a good 
driver will be infinitely better, than where a mixed group 



228 The Rural School 

of children loiter along the public road or roam unpro- 
tected through the open fields. No man who would be 
trusted with the driving of one of these wagons would 
permit the abuse and vile language before little girls that 
now takes place on the road to and from school. If a 
child had to walk a short distance to meet the wagon, this 
would be no worse than to walk all the way; and the 
instances where this would occur would be rare, for the 
wagon will generally come to the door. (See report of 
Superintendent Gilhams, page 229.) 

4. " Difficulty of securing proper conveyances on 
reasonable terms, or if the parent is allowed compensa- 
tion, of agreeing on terms satisfactory to both parties, 
parents and officials." 

While in some localities it may be difficult to secure 
suitable drivers and make satisfactory terms for trans- 
portation of pupils, yet where districts have consofidated 
they have been able to adjust this matter and convey 
the children to school just as the Government has been 
able to find men and teams to deliver the mail daily at 
the farmer's door,, and just as creamery companies have 
found persons willing to make a daily route to gather 
cream. (See report of Dean of the Department of Agri- 
culture of the University of Illinois, page 230.) 

5. " Natural proneness of some people to object to 
any innovation, whatever the measure or however well 
it is received elsewhere." 

To us this seems to be the greatest hindrance to the 
consolidation of many districts. We " rather bear ills 
we have than fly to those that we know not of." Where 
consolidation has been tried, it has been almost univer- 
sally satisfactory, but people are slow to take up new 
ideas and make radical changes. If it. is judiciously 
advocated, the coming generation will accept it. 



Consolidation 229 

REPORTS IN REGARD TO CONSOLIDATION IN SEVERAL 

STATES 

Hon. E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent of Kansas, 
has set forth the advantages of consohdation so well that 
by permission we are quoting from his Bulletin on Con- 
solidation as follows: 

In Indiana and Ohio. — The report of Superintendent 
H. S. Gilhams for 1903-04 gives the following statement 
of facts as to consolidation in La Grange County, In- 
diana: 

"1. The drivers carry watches and consult them while 
on the route. 

''2. Each driver keeps the time of the consohdated 
school, generally standard. 

"3. The rate of speed while on the route averages five 
miles per hour for the year. 

" 4. The time of arrival varies from ten to fifteen 
minutes prior to the opening of the schools. 

'' 5. The more remote pupils ride about five miles, and 
sixty per cent ride three miles or less. 

" 6. Children are kept comfortable by stoves, patent 
heaters, blankets and soapstones. 

" 7. The greatest advantage to the service is township 
ownership of hacks and the improvement of roads. 

''8. The drivers exercise due responsibility in promptly 
and safely conveying the children to school and return- 
ing them to their homes; they also, by contract, prohibit 
questionable language, undue familiarity and boisterous 
conduct in or about the hacks. 

" 9. Eighty-five per cent of the patrons have reported 
the consohdated school as their preference in comparison 
with the ' old way.' " 

The Dean of the Department of Agriculture of the 



230 The Rural School 

University of Illinois caused a special investigation to be 
made of the consolidated schools in Indiana and Ohio, 
and below are some extracts from the report: 

'' Over sixty per cent of the districts report the cost 
as less and the results as better after consolidation. About 
fifteen per cent report the cost as being the same, and ten 
per cent that the system costs more, but the results are 
better. . . .'' 

"' There are four things that are going to benefit this 
country: These are the telegraph, the daily mail, the 
electric car and the centralized schools in the country, 
and when you have gotten these you have many of the 
advantages of the city in the country, and all the advan- 
tages of the country besides. I do not think I can ad- 
vocate too strongly the centralized schools. ..." 

''The advantages of centralization are many. It has 
been found that the attendance has been more regular; 
very seldom are the scholars absent. Much more interest 
is being taken and greater progress made. They have 
larger libraries, better teachers, more competition in their 
work, and, in the end, are far more accomplished than 
would have been possible had they attended the district 
school. I might add further that it has been proven that 
the children have been warmer and more comfortable." 

'' ... If a child is taken sick at the school, he is sent 
home at public expense. This has occurred, I was told, 
four times in the past three years. As one of the parents 
said, ' It is a great comfort to know that if occasion de- 
mands it my child will be brought home.' " 

''As to the character of the work done in this well- 
graded six-room high school as compared with that of 
the scattering schools, there is no room for argument, 
there is absolutely no comparison possible." 

" Of the fifty-six persons interviewed in Gustava and 



Consolidation 231 

Green townships, forty-five were in favor of the system, 
four were indifferent,, and seven opposed, and of the seven 
who were against the system, six were without children 
in attendance at school. The advantages of an up-to-date 
and thoroughly conducted high school were in this rural 
school shared alike by all the children of the to^vnship. 
Six months under the central system is as good as nine 
months under the old district plan. ..." 

'' The poor man who has heretofore been able to send 
his children only to the district school now has the pleas- 
ure of seeing them securing the best education that could 
be provided by the country." 

'' The plan of centralization offers equal advantages to 
all the children of the township. It permits a better 
grading of schools and classification of pupils. It affords 
an opportunity for thorough work by adding more weeks 
of schooling and by the addition of higher grades of study. 
Fewer but better and more capable teachers will be em- 
ployed and retained; and, besides, it brings the stimu- 
lating influence of larger classes, with the spirit of emula- 
tion incident thereto. Small schools cannot have the 
vitalizing force that comes from larger numbers. Chil- 
dren who are transported in comfortable wagons are not 
exposed to the rigors of inclement weather. Tardiness 
and absence are almost unknown. The parents become 
more deeply interested in the schools. The result is better 
school buildings, better sanitary conditions, better equip- 
ment, and all of this at a less aggregate expense than under 
the small district plan." 

A. B. Graham sent inquiries to parents in townships 
in Ohio having consolidated schools, and secured the 
information below: 

'' How does the driver announce his coming? " The 
answers were: " By blowing a horn; " '' Blows a whistle; " 



232 The Rural School 

" Halloos; " " Doesn't annoimce his coming; children 
learn about his regular times of coming." 

^' Does your child stand and wait for the wagon? " 
Every reply so far is " No/' 

" Is it necessary to clothe your child as heavily for the 
winter trips as under the old plan? " Seventy-five per 
cent answer "No"; fifteen per cent " No difference " ; 
ten per cent " Yes." 

" Does your child attend school more regularly than 
under the old plan? " Eighty per cent answer " Yes," 
twenty per cent " See no difference." 

" Does your child show an increase in its interest above 
what it was under the old plan? " Ninety per cent answer 
" Yes," ten per cent " No." 

^' Do your teachers show an increase in interest above 
what was shown under the old plan? " Ninety per cent 
answer " Yes," five per cent answer " No," and five per 
cent " Notice no difference." 

" What effect have centralized or consolidated schools 
on the social and educational interests of the township? " 
Most who answered said that there had been great im- 
provement. 

" In the main, do you feel favorable toward centralized 
or consolidated schools to-day? " Seventy-five per cent 
of those who at first had objected, answered this question 
by saying " Yes." Some on the end of the longest route 
answered " No." 

In Ohio the State Commissioner of Education is loud in 
his commendation of the plan. 

In Eastern States. — The president of the State 
Board of Education of Massachusetts reports that 
" in Massachusetts, at least, the plan of consoli- 
dation of rural schools is no longer an experiment, but 
is recognized in most of the towns of the Common- 



Consolidation 233 

wealth as a means of raising the standard of education 
in rural communities. 

In Connecticut, consolidation, as reported by the state 
superintendent, has been most advantageous to the state. 

In New Jersey the advantages enumerated in favor of 
consolidation are: (1) economy; (2) better teachers and 
equipment; (3) better supervision; (4) regularity of at- 
tendance of pupils; (5) better educational spirit. 

Report of United States Commissioner. — Wm. T. 
Harris, formerly United States Commissioner of Edu- 
cation, in his report on the subject of consolidation, says: 

" Upon the success of this movement rests the chief 
hope for the improvement of the rural school. It is for- 
tunate that a device which changes the ungraded school 
into a graded school involves a saving of expense. The 
improvement is well worth the trial, even were it to double 
the cost of the rural school; but, as will be seen by statis- 
tics, it is secured with an actual saving of expenditure. 
Better teachers, more sanitary buildings, less personal 
expenses on the part of the pupils, better classification, 
and many lesser advantages are commending this reform 
to the entire country." 

Modified Forms of Consolidation — Superintendent I. 
J. Scott of Story County, Iowa, has inaugurated a plan of 
gradation in the schools of Grant township, which is, 
to say the least, unique, yet simple in its organization. 
The pupils of each of three adjacent school districts are 
divided into three groups. In the first group are grades 
one to three, in the second group, grades four to six and in 
the third group, grades seven to nine. Pupils of the first 
group are assigned to the central building, those of the 
second, to another, and those of the last group to a third. 
Each child is supposed to walk to his own schoolhouse; 
then, if his group belongs in one of the other buildings. 




[234] 



Consolidation 235 

he rides there in a conveyance furnished by the combined 
districts. By arranging the programs of each school to 
suit the convenience of the driver, one school beginning 
at nine-thirty and another closing at three-thirty, one 
wagon conveys all pupils to and from their respective 
schools. Two wagons, one starting at one extremity of 
the combined districts and the second at the other, and 
meeting at the central house, exchanging pupils and then 
returning, would do the work more satisfactorily. At 
night they could be returned in a similar manner. 

By this plan schools in the country can have many of 
the advantages of graded schools. 

The legislature of Minnesota of 1911 provided that 
certain '^ high schools, graded schools or consolidated 
rural schools, having satisfactory rooms and equipment " 
etc., might be designated by the state high school board 
as schools in which ^^ an agricultural and industrial de- 
partment . . . might be maintained." This department 
consists of courses in agriculture, manual training and 
home economics. With these designated schools '' one 
or more rural districts " may be associated. These rural 
districts are not to be disorganized, but unite in the sup- 
port of these special courses. A common tax of not less 
than two mills is levied. The " Central School " receives 
state aid to the amount of $2500, and $150 for each asso- 
ciated rural district. The rural districts receive $50 each. 

STANDARDIZATION OF THE SCHOOLS 

In Louisiana. — A commendable movement on foot in 
Louisiana, advocated by C. J. Brown, State Rural School 
Supervisor, is worthy of consideration and imitation in 
other parts of the country. It is known there by the term 
'' Standardization of Schools." By this plan it is aimed 



236 



The Rural School 



to reduce the number of grades in the one-room school to 
possibly five; and to centralize the upper two or three 
grades in a consolidated school. 

This plan has a number of commendable features: 
(1) It furnishes a school near home for the younger chil- 
dren and makes it possible to employ a teacher suited to 
lower-grade work. (2) Since, as a rule, there are fewer 
pupils in the upper grades by this plan it will cost less for 
transportation to the consolidated school. (3) In many 
cases these older pupils can furnish their own conveyance 
and thus obviate altogether the expense of transportation 
to the district. (4) It will bring older pupils together into 
a school where a man teacher may be employed and 
athletics fostered. (5) In some states the primary school 
will want two sessions, a fall and a spring session, with the 
vacation in the winter, while the consolidated school 
would have but one, beginning in the fall and closing in 
the earl}^ spring. (6) Little or no expense to the district 
is involved. Where conditions lend themselves to this 
plan, it would seem an admirable method of consolidation. 
In Minnesota. — To improve the schools of this state, 
aid is offered to certain high schools, graded schools and 
common schools which fulfill specified requirements. " For 
the purpose of fixing state aid for common schools " they 
are classified as Class A, Class B, Class C. The table 
shows the requirements and the aid given each class: 



Class 


Teacher 


Term 


Building and Equipment 


State Aid 


Class A 


1st Grade 


8 months 


Suitable Building and 
other apparatus 


$150 


Class B 


2nd " 


8 " 


u 


100 


Class C 


i( (( 


7 


11 


75 



Consolidation 237 

In Wisconsin. — For the purpose of bringing about 
better conditions in the country schools of the state, 
Wisconsin is offering state aid to several classes of her 
schools which meet certain requirements. While the 
state offers this aid to other schools, we are interested in 
the " state graded schools " and the '' rural " schools. 

Of the former there are two classes. The first class 
consists of schools of three or more departments, which 
maintain a nine months' school taught by competent 
teachers, a principal holding a state certificate, with as- 
sistants holding high-grade certificates or teachers of 
successful experience. 

Schools of two departments may be state graded schools 
of the second class, providing they have a principal who 
holds a first-grade county certificate. If he holds a cer- 
tificate of lower grade, he must be a teacher of successful 
teaching experience certified to by the county superin- 
tendent. The assistant must be a well qualified teacher. 

In both classes the buildings, furniture and grounds 
must be " maintained in good condition and free from 
any unsanitary feature." " Sufficient equipment, in- 
cluding globes, maps, blackboards, library and other 
essentials for the proper work of the school shall be pro- 
vided by the school district." 

If, when inspected by the state rural school inspector, 
a school meets the requirements of a state graded school 
of the first class, the state aids in the maintenance of the 
school to the extent of |300; if of the second class, $200. 

A law passed by the recent session of the legislature 
gives an additional $100 to either class of state graded 
schools that do strong work in agriculture and one other 
industrial subject. Special state aid may be withheld 
from any school not doing high grade work in every 
department. 



238 The Rural School 

Of the rural schools there are two classes, first and sec- 
ond. " Every school district . . . which shall have 
maintained a school or schools for eight months the pre- 
vious year; provided a suitable school building, needful 
apparatus, supplementary readers; installed an ade- 
quate system of ventilation; and done efficient work, 
shall ... be deemed to have maintained a rural school 
or schools of the first class." A school of this class is 
entitled to state aid to the amount of fifty dollars for 
three years. Schools of the second class do not receive 
any special state aid. 

In Missouri. — It does not seem necessary to offer 
special state aid in order to bring about standard schools; 
indeed, it seems questionable in the mind of the author 
whether this is the better method. What is needed is an 
awakened public sentiment for better schools in the coun- 
try; and probably, a better and purer public opinion 
can be aroused without state aid than with it. 

Without prize money but with the aid of county 
superintendents and a rural school inspector, Wm. P. 
Evans, State Superintendent of Missouri, has under- 
taken to raise the standard of the schools of his state. 
He says: '^ The first plan for approval of rural schools 
was promulgated in 1909. It led at once to increased 
interest, on the part of many communities, in the grading 
of the school, in attendance and in better buildings and 
grounds. Nearly three hundred schools have been 
placed on the approved list, and many others are taking 
such steps as will lead to their approval in the near 
future." The county superintendent and inspector " ap- 
prove " a school when it reaches the required standard. 

In order to determine whether a school is up to stand- 
ard or not, eighty out of a possible one hundred points 
must be earned. Twenty of these hundred points 



Consolidation 230 

are based on the Condition of the School Building; sev- 
enteen, on Apparatus and Equipment of Building; thir- 
teen, on Grounds and Outbuildings; twenty-five, on 
the Course of Study and Organization; twenty-five, on 
the Teacher. 

'' Before a school will be approved it must comply with 
the following requirements: (1) The term must be at 
least eight months in length. (2) The teacher must hold 
a certificate higher than a third-grade county. (3) The 
salary paid the teacher must be at least forty dollars per 
month. (4) The board must have complied with the 
library law, section 8186, R. S. 1909. (5) The state course 
of study must be followed. (6) The organization and 
classification of the school must be definite and sys- 
tematic. (7) The instruction and discipline must be 
satisfactory. (8) The school buildings, grounds and out- 
buildings must be adequate, clean and sanitary. (9) The 
room must be heated by other means than radiation. 
(10) The teacher must be a regular attendant at county 
and township meetings. (11) A satisfactory program of 
recitation and study must be posted conspicuously." The 
legislature in the 1913 session has provided for state aid 
to weak districts under certain conditions. 

In Illinois. — In the arousing of sentiment for better 
conditions in country schools, a rural school inspector is 
of inestimable value. Illinois now has two supervisors 
under the direction of the state superintendent. With 
the aid of these supervisors, Francis G. Blair, State Super- 
intendent of Illinois, has been able to take advanced 
ground in the movement of standardization of rural 
schools. From his bulletin, " The One-Room and Village 
Schools of Illinois," for 1912, the following is quoted: 
" The supervisors of country and village schools upon 
invitation of the county superintendent, will visit a 



240 The Rural School 

county spending two or three days inspecting schools in 
all parts of the county. The directors will be invited 
to be present. The grounds, house, furnishings, heating, 
ventilation, library, water supply, outhouses, qualifica- 
tions of the teacher, teaching and conduct of the school 
will be inspected, and when the essentials of a good school 
are found present, a diploma will be granted it as a stand- 
ard school. A plate bearing the words ' Standard 
School ' or ' Superior School ' will be placed on the 
door. The diploma and plate will be subject to recall if 
the school fails to keep up to the standard. It will be 
the policy, not simply to find fault, but to assist in find- 
ing out what the schools really need and to encourage 
improvement." 

"... Seven hundred schools have been standardized. 
Not more than one fifth of these were up to standard 
when inspected. Four fifths of them were brought up 
after inspection by the state supervisor and the county 
superintendent . ' ' 

" On the whole the work is very encouraging. County 
superintendents, school officers, teachers and parents 
have responded as soon as the matter was clearly before 
them. Some counties have already half their schools 
on the standard list. We have every reason to expect 
that in a few years ninety per cent of the schools of some 
counties will take rank as standard schools." 

REQUIREMENTS FOR A STANDARD SCHOOL 

Following are the requirements for a standard school 
as outlined by Superintendent Blair: 

Yard and Outbuildings: 1. Ample playground. 2. Good 
approaches to the house. 3. Two well-kept, widely sepa- 
rated outhouses. 4. Convenient fuel house. The School- 



Consolidation 241 

house: 1. House well built, in good repair and painted. 

2. Good foundation. 3. Well lighted. 4. Attractive interior 
decorations. 5. Good blackboards, some suitable for small 
children. 6. Heated with jacketed stove in the corner, or 
a room heater and ventilator in the corner, or basement 
furnace which brings clean air in through the furnace and 
removes foul air from the room. 7. Floor clean and tidy. 
Furnishings and Supplies: 1. Desks suitable for children 
of all ages, properly placed. 2. Good teacher's desk. 

3. Good bookcase. 4. A good collection of juvenile books 
suitable as aids to school work as well as general reading. 
Pupils' Reading Circle organized. 5. Set of good maps, a 
globe, dictionaries, sanitary water supply. The Organi- 
zation: 1. School well organized. 2. Classification and 
daily register well kept. 3. Definite program of study. 

4. Program of recitation. 5. Attendance regular. 6. At 
least seven months of school. 7. Discipline good. The 
Teacher: 1. The equivalent of a high school education. 
2. Must receive at least $360 per annum. 3. Ranked by 
the county superintendent as a good or superior teacher. 
4. Must read Teachers' Reading Circle books and attend 
institutes and meetings. 

Superintendent Blair says, " Many school officers have 
not only expressed themselves in favor of having the 
essentials of a good school, but they want their school to 
be as nearly right as it can be made. To encourage this 
laudable desire a diploma will be offered to a Superior 
One-room School." The requirements for a superior 
school are along the same lines as for a standard school, 
except they are more complete and rigid. Along similar 
lines the schools of villages and small towns will be 
standardized. Read these requirements for a standard 
graded school: 1. The discipline must make good work 
possible and tend to establish sound character. 2. If the 



242 The Rural School 

school does only eight years of work, pupils must be well 
prepared for first year of high school. 3. If the school does 
ten years of work, the 9th and 10th years must be equal 
to the first two years of the course of a good four-year 
high school. 

When rural schools can be brought up to the above 
standards, good work will be possible in the one-room 
country school. 

REFERENCES 

Fairchild, Consolidation. State Supt. of Public In- 
struction, Topeka, Kansas. 

Kern, Among Country Schools, 1906. Ginn & Co., 
$1.50. 

Kern, The John Swaney Consolidated Country School 
in Magnolia Township, Putnam County, Illinois. N. E. A. 
Proceedings 1908: 420. 

Kern, New Kind of Country School. World's Work 16: 
10720 (Sept., 1908). 

Knorr, Organization of a County System. 1910. (Bulle- 
tin, Office of Experiment Stations, U. S. Dept. of Agri- 
culture.) Superintendent of Documents, Government 
Printing Office, Washington, 15c. 



PART II 
RURAL SCHOOL METHODS 



Chapter I 

PRIMARY READING 
IMPORTANCE OF READING 

The importance of reading is hard to overestimate. 
It is the foundation stone upon which all education is 
based. It is the door which admits one to the store- 
house which contains the products of the master minds 
in all fields and of all periods. Literature, natural sciences 
and mathematics must be approached largely through 
this avenue. It is the first and most important means 
at man's command of corning into contact not only with 
the rudiments of learning but with the best and latest word 
on any and all subjects of past or present interest. By 
this means we are kept in close touch with the doings of 
the world, — the current events which make future his- 
tory, — with the latest finding in the fields of science and 
art and mechanics. To but few are given the time, the 
opportunity, the means, to do original research work, to 
travel, to study at the best schools or to investigate 
sociological and kindred conditions at first hand, but by 
means of books the results of such work are brought di- 
rectly to us at little cost or trouble. He who enables one 
to take advantage of these efforts of others by teaching 
him to read understandingly and to like reading for its 
own sake has performed a great service. He has placed 
at one's command the means by which he may obtain 

245 



246 The Rural School 

instruction, entertainment and pleasure independent of 
season, friends or financial conditions. 

In spite of the importance of this subject and the fact 
that it is the first and almost the last subject taught in 
the rural schools, it continues to be one of the most poorly- 
taught subjects of the common school course. It is taught 
as a duty, as a matter of course, but with little thought 
about it except that it is a means of learning to pronounce 
words. In this respect the spelling book might just as 
well be used as a textbook with but little difference in 
results. In fact, much of the so-called. reading is little else 
than a naming of words. 

KINDS OF READING . 

Silent Reading and Oral Reading. — Reading is of two 
kinds, silent, or mental, and oral, or vocal. Silent reading 
is of first importance because the greater part of what 
one reads is read thus for his own pleasure and profit, 
and because his oral expression of thought is entirely de- 
pendent upon his mental grasp of the thought to be 
expressed, plus the mechanics of effective speech. Al- 
though the chief end and aim of teaching reading is to 
render one a good silent reader, it is through the agency 
of oral reading that the teacher is enabled to do this. By 
oral reading, mainly, is he able to judge of the pupil's 
ability to understand and translate the thought of the 
printed page, and it is only by this means that he can 
correct errors, direct the mind into right channels and 
assist the mental concept by insuring for it the proper 
physical expression. Although the oral expression of a 
thought cannot excel the reader's concept of the same, 
yet the knowledge of the pupil's idea, gained through his 
oral expression of it, enables the teacher to approve or to 



Primary Reading 247 

improve the pupil's grasp of the thought. Hence, we 
must concern ourselves chiefly with obtaining correct 
oral expression as an indication that the mind is getting 
the desired idea. Silent reading is a thought-getting 
process, oral reading is a thought-giving process. Thought- 
getting must precede thought-giving. As the child must 
generally get the thought which he gives from the printed 
expression of it, the chief work of the teacher of primary 
reading is the development of the ability to interpret the 
printed page. As this power increases, more emphasis 
is given to control of voice and body and the various 
physical attributes concerned in the oral expression of 
the thought, but in no stage of the work can the two 
lines be entirely separated, nor can any sharp line be 
drawn to indicate where one ends and another begins. 
As the pupil advances there should be less difficulty in 
thought-getting and greater ease in thought-giving. 

What Constitutes Good Oral Reading. — Good oral 
reading consists mainly in reading as one would wish 
others to tell it to you in those words. Judged by this 
simple standard, there is much poor reading, for it is 
remarkable how seldom one hears the natural speaking 
tone used by the average reader in school. Instead, there 
is heard the high pitch, the halting or the drawling man- 
ner, a too loud, a too low or a muffled, indistinct tone. 
There is little or no attempt either to understand or to 
express the author's thought and the reader rushes or 
drags through the selection as his familiarity with the 
words or his lack of it will permit. This is all the more 
deplorable because the teaching of reading may easily be 
made one of the most interesting and satisfying of all 
the common school subjects, and a subject in which one 
may quickly see the results of earnest effort and the 
use of proper methods. 



248 The Rural School 

METHODS OF TEACHING READING 

As has been said before, the province of teaching pri- 
mary reading is chiefly to put a child into possession of 
the means of thought-getting. To do this it is necessary 
ineffaceably to impress certain forms upon the child's 
mind so that he shall not only know these forms but shall 
be able to use them in the recognition or determination 
of other forms to be met in the future. The mastery of 
these symbols will be discussed under the different methods 
which have been or are used in teaching primary reading. 

Aim of All Methods. — Of these methods there are 
many, but when used alone, no method is without its de- 
fects. In all methods the final end is the same, regardless 
of the means employed to secure it. This end is the ready 
recognition and easy use of the written symbols of ideas 
and thoughts as expressed by words and sentences. 
By whatever means this is secured, certain things must 
be accomplished before the child is fully equipped for 
efficient, independent work, before he is in possession of 
all the instruments which he needs for the mastery of 
the art of reading. He must recognize words and groups 
of words, he must know letter forms, sounds and names 
and how to combine sounds and forms. He must acquire 
the habit, unconsciously perhaps, of looking upon the 
words not as an end in themselves, but as a means to an 
end, and that end, the thought bound up in the words. 
The words are only the shell of the nut which must be 
cracked before he can obtain the meat. For this reason 
too, the sentences presented to the child before he begins 
the study of reading in a book should not be merely a 
string of words. The first book of a series of readers 
especially should have real literary value in order that 
a taste for good reading may be acquired. 



Primary Reading 249 

The best method, then, is the one that enables the child 
to become an independent reader with the least expense 
of time, and with the greatest degree of interest and 
pleasiu-e. He should early acquire some way of deter- 
mining new words, and this should proceed gradually 
from the known to the unknown. 

Various Methods. — The principal methods of teaching 
reading are: The Alphabetic, the Word, the Phonetic, 
the Phonic, the Sentence and the Rational method. Each 
method chooses a different basis for the point of attack 
in learning to recognize sight symbols and in connecting 
the symbols with the corresponding sounds. Each of 
these methods has had its advocates who proclaimed it 
the sole and only good system; but the test of use has 
shown the strength and the weakness of each in turn. 
By each, many thousands have learned to read, though 
often in spite of the method. No one of them is without 
some weakness, but long experience and careful observa- 
tion has shown that a judicious use of the best features 
of several different methods produces a method which 
gives a proficiency and a broadness which is not 
otherwise possible. 

The Alphabetic Method. — The alphabetic method, 
which fortunately has fallen into quite general disrepute 
and disuse in recent years, has few claims to merit except 
that of teaching the names of the letters — which is in 
no sense learning to read — and that, perhaps, it helps 
to make good spellers, which also has nothing to do with 
good reading. Its advocates proceed on the theory that 
naming the letters will assist in pronouncing the word. 
That nothing is farther from the truth must be evident 
when one studies a few words and attempts to pronounce 
them by combining the names of the letters that compose 
them. Cow becomes se-o-double u. Instead of pronounc- 



250 The Rural School 

ing cow, he really says four other words, see, o, double, 
you. Man becomes em-a-en and hand, aitch-a-en-d. 
Also, kt spells Katie and nme spells enemy. From these 
examples it is seen that, instead of being a help, the names 
of the letters are an actual hindrance to correct pronun- 
ciation. That which really happens in the use of the al- 
phabetic method is one or the other of two things. The 
letters are named and then the teacher pronounces the 
word. After countless repetitions of this sort the mind 
becomes indistinctly conscious that a certain character 
represents a certain sound — not the name — though the 
sound, in all probability, could not be given apart from 
the word. Were the attention directed at once to the 
sounds represented by the letters, how much time and 
useless effort would be saved. The other process is that 
which occurs in the use of the word method. That is, by 
constant repetition the child associates the name with 
the form of the word as a whole. Thus we again find that 
the names of the letters are simply useless material that 
cumber the mind and distract attention from the real 
matter and might much better be left to be learned inci- 
dentally as the need for them arises later. 

The Word Method. — The word method places the em- 
phasis upon the word instead of upon the letter as the 
unit in learning to read. The words are simply taken as 
wholes without any consideration of the letters or sounds 
which compose them. The word to be learned is given, 
preceded by object or picture, when possible, and the 
pupil or teacher gives its name. The natural order of 
presentation should be, object or picture, spoken word, 
written word, and later, elementary sounds and letters. 

After words are given they must be reviewed again and 
again until their recognition becomes instantaneous and 
accurate. The chief objection to this method is the fact 



Primary Reading 251 

that the pupil remains too dependent upon the teacher 
for each new word. Each word stands out alone and no 
means of correlation and comparison gives ability to 
pronounce new words. Sooner or later many pupils do 
this but it is not an integral part of the word method. One 
advantage of this method is that it is logical. It begins 
with the single word, which is the unit of child language. 
His first speech consists not of letters, elementary sounds 
or sentences, but of single words or at the most of phrases. 
These words are names, '' mamma," " dog," " drink," 
etc. Then come words of action, " see," " go," ^' run," 
" take," or " mamma take," etc., and these are soon 
followed by adjectives, as qualifying words, " pretty," 
" little," '^ good," etc. The personal element appears 
early also, and " my," " I," " me," etc., are heard. 
Soon these are joined into simple sentences. In about 
this order, words may be presented to the child who is 
learning to read, but words alone should be presented 
for a few lessons only. As soon as the stock of sight 
words will permit it, these should be combined into sen- 
tences, or stories, as the children like to call them. 

The Sentence Method. — The sentence method is ad- 
vocated by those who claim that the sentence, rather 
than the word, should be considered as the basis, or 
unit of speech. Complete sentences are given from the 
beginning, on the theory that the sentence is the only 
unit that expresses a complete thought and, since reading 
is a process of thought-getting and thought-giving, it is 
illogical to begin with an incomplete thought. The ad- 
vocates of the word method and of the sentence method, 
however, do agree in insisting that the unit with which 
they begin shall have meaning and be capable of analysis 
rather than that meaningless fragments must be pieced 
together like a puzzle before they have any value. The 



252 The Rural School 

sentence method demands conversation, the develop- 
ment of the sentence orally and then its presentation in 
written form. This is then given back by the pupils. In 
the beginning no attention is given to the division of the 
sentence into words. The whole sentence is given by 
the teacher, and the pupils are expected to recognize it as 
a whole. Sentences containing the same words combined 
in various ways should be given. One can readily see 
that the same combination of words cannot be used 
frequently enough to give ready recognition of more than 
fragments of sentences. As the pupils note these similar 
groups and, finally, the individual words, the sentence 
method lapses into the word method just as, when the 
child begins to combine the words into sentences, the 
word method merges into the sentence method. For, 
if the teacher insists, as he should, that the whole thought 
be grasped mentally before any oral expression be given, 
he has crossed completely over from the one method to 
the other. The skillful teacher will secure excellent 
results by the use of the sentence method, but, when time 
is limited and the teacher is not an expert, usually much 
better results will be secured by means of the word method. 

The Phonetic Method. — ■ The phonetic method employs 
all the elementary sounds with their diacritical mark- 
ings. The silent characters are usually omitted. 

A specially prepared book must be used in taking up 
this method. After the child learns to read, this system 
is abandoned and another taught him. It is therefore 
very impractical, disconnected, uninteresting, and wholly 
a matter of memory. 

The Phonic Method. — The phonic method has all the 
advantages of the phonetic method and more, without 
some of its disadvantages. It also makes early and 
constant use of the elementary sounds, making them, as 



Primary Reading 253 

does the phonetic method, the basis of teaching. It em- 
ploys all the letters of the alphabet to indicate particular 
sounds and then uses diacritical markings to indicate 
the additional sounds of the language. All this must be 
taught just as the a, b, c's are taught and is open to^the 
same objections, but, unhke the phonetic method, it does 
not require specially printed books for its use, nor the 
learning of two forms of the same word. All new words are 
learned by the combination of these elementary sounds. 
The Rational Method. — A modified phonic method 
originated by the late Edward G. Ward, superintendent 
of the Brooklyn schools, makes use of all these simple 
forms and also recognizes and employs numerous com- 
binations of sounds, which appear frequently as an aid 
to ready recognition of new words. Some of these com- 
binations are, '' ing," ''old," " ight," '' ite,'' " ness," 
'' ish," etc. Their use lightens the work materially, for 
this grouping requires but one mental effort where, 
otherwise, several would be necessary. It also compels 
recognition of the common element in a great many 
words and makes their mastery easy. These phonic 
symbols are called phonograms and are divided into 
simple and compound. The simple ones are the regular 
elementary sounds, and the compound ones are, ^' ing," 
" old," etc., such as have been mentioned as occurring 
frequently enough to be of advantage in learning many 
other words. Others of these are, ''an," "at," " all," 
" ail," etc., which give rise to such lists of words as, can, 
ban, Dan; hat, cat, iat; call, hall, iall; hail, fail, hail; 
etc. In using them, the compound phonogram is recog- 
nized and then the pupil has only to sound the simple 
phonogram and combine it with the compound one in 
order to pronounce the word. It does not require great 
effort; if one knows that c-at is cat, to infer that r-at is rat. 



Chapter 11 
PRIMARY READING (Continued) 

Having set forth in the previous chapter the chief 
attributes of the various methods, it may not now be 
hard to concede that the ideal method of teaching primary 
reading is not by any particular one of these, but by a 
combination of the word and the modified phonic methods 
with the early use of words in sentences. Experience 
proves that pupils learn, thus, to read quickly and skill- 
fully, because the phonic feature gives independence, the 
word feature gives them a large initial stock of material 
for reading matter, and the sentence feature requires 
thought and brings about smoothness and naturalness 
of expression. 

In the next several paragraphs, for the sake of con- 
nection and further emphasis, several things already men- 
tioned will be repeated. 

THE COMBINED METHOD 

A Bad Habit. — One of the worst habits, and one of the 
most distressing to hear, which children are often allowed 
to contract, is that of droning over and drawling out the 
words of the reading without expressing any meaning 
or obtaining any for himself. No child should be allowed 
to express a sentence without first having gotten the full 
idea to be expressed. This makes a perfect knowledge 

254 



Primary Reading 255 

of the words most essential, hence much and careful word 
drill must precede the reading. 

Learning Words. — The more words one knows per- 
fectly, the more readily and fluently he will read. The 
first few weeks of school life may be termed the word- 
getting period. The time will vary from five to ten weeks 
according to the age and ability of the pupils. The 
words should be given as fast as the child can master 
them, but care should be taken to see that he does master 
them and that, by constant reviews, the old words are 
not crowded out by the new. Time spent in insuring this 
in the beginning will be time saved for the future. That 
the child may not tire of these constant reviews, it is 
necessary that they be presented in as many ways as 
possible. Go daisy picking or rabbit hunting, gather 
autumn leaves, throw snowballs, make a tree of words 
and call them apples or Christmas presents, then see who 
can pick the most apples or name the most presents 
without missing. Find a certain number or all the words 
of one kind, see w^ho can find certain words first, etc., etc. 

The First Words. — A few of the first lessons must 
consist, necessarily, of detached words. Naturally, these 
should be names of common objects and action words, 
because the noun and the verb are the foundation of the 
sentence. They should be words, too, which are found 
in the child's own vocabulary. If possible, he should be 
led to use the words himself before they are presented to 
him in written form. At first, he must simply be told 
the word and made to understand that this written form 
is just another way of saying the same thing which he 
has said. 

It is well to choose the names of objects that can be 
represented easily by the objects themselves and by pic- 
tures and drawings, e. g., hoy, dog, flower, box, baby. 



256 The Rural School 

bird, nest, apple, etc. This gives them a reality and they 
easily become the subject of conversation. From this one 
can approach the word form without abruptness. The 
verb forms may be those which the child frequently uses, 
or those which he can illustrate by the action itself, as, 
see, run, sing, etc. The personal element is soon added 
by the use of / and my. The little words, a, an, 
and the must be given early. After their first intro- 
duction, the close combination of these words with their 
accompanying nouns, almost as though they were one 
word, will avoid the bad habit, so common, of empha- 
sizing the " Si'^ and the " the " and saying a man, the 
boy, etc. From the first these words should be slurred 
into the next word, thu man, a (u) little boy. For a time 
it is helpful to illustrate this close connection graphically 
by drawing a line below the group, thus : ^ bird, the baby. 
This same plan is convenient and helpful to illustrate 
the natural word grouping found in speech and to assist 
in securing proper expression: I see the dog. I can see 
the little dog. My baby can see the bird in the big green 
tree. Run, my little dog, run to me. 

A child's initial stock of words does not, necessarily, 
consist of the shortest words alone, for he is using sight 
and form as means of recognition, and the words, baby, 
apple, flower, mamma, etc., are as characteristic in form 
and as much a part of his vocabulary as, cat, dog, and 
boy. The sight words, however, should be mainly those 
the child will meet when he takes up his first book, with 
such others as the teacher may need to carry out her 
scheme of lessons. 

A Knowledge of Phonics. — During the period when 
the pupil is mainly occupied in word-getting he should 
be laying the foundation for future independence in this 
respect by building up a knowledge of phonics. The 



Primary Reading 257 

child is graduall}^ introduced to his new words by a blend- 
ing of the elementary sounds, or a process of slow pronoun- 
cing of words whose sounds blend easily, and continues 
the work in increasing amount, the teacher giving the 
sound until the pupil's ear becomes accurate and he can 
pronounce readily by this means. The pupils may then be 
encouraged to sound some new words with the teacher 
to see if they can tell what the sounds say. By choosing 
words that possess no difficulty, they will be pleased to 
find that they can both sound and pronounce the words. 

They are ready then to begin the analysis of some 
written words which they already know by sight. The 
teacher may point out and sound the parts of the word 
h-at, m-at, m-d-d^, m-d-kf, h-an-d, t-r-e^. By using a 
number of words having one or more common elements the 
child will soon recognize them and associate form and 
sound, e. g., mdy, mdke, mdde ; me, se^, tre^; hall, iall, call, 
etc. The characters may then be separated, using, at first, 
those whose sounds are easily made and which have but 
one sound, as, 1, f, m, t, h. Drill on these sounds similarly 
to the way in which the sight words were drilled upon until 
sound and form are associated. Ask pupils to name I 
words (use names of sounds, not letters, in asking for 
these words), m words, t words, etc. Gradually include 
long and short vowels and other consonants. 

When the list is suj0&ciently large and well known, the 
child should be encouraged to work out new words for 
himself. Many new words will fall wholly within his field 
of knowledge; others he can pronounce by hearing the 
teacher sound them, and some, whose peculiar formation 
might be misleading, had better be given as sight words 
until some future time, when an explanation will be 
understood. When we take up the sounding of the written 
forms, it is necessary to call attention to the fact that 



258 The Rural School 

some words have letters that say nothing, that is, are 
silent and, hence, are sometimes marked out. Special 
attention should now be called to the compound phono- 
grams that they may be made daily use of in self-help to 
proper pronunciation. Children may be asked to give 
ight words, ail words, old words, etc., just as they were 
required to give words containing the single phonograms. 
In case of occasional confusion of similar words, such, for 
instance, as lack, back, and black, only the dissimilar part 
need receive special attention to secure its correct pro- 
nunciation. Drill cards, similar to the word cards men- 
tioned elsewhere, may be used for frequent and rapid 
drill in any and all the ways suggested for the use of the 
word cards. Above all, from this time forth, the teacher 
should help the child to help himself but should pro- 
nounce, outright, no word which the child can determine 
for himself. After sounds and forms are closely associated 
in thought, it does no harm to mention, incidentally, the 
names of the letters, though this is not necessary until 
pupils begin to spell. 

Spelling. — It may be well to mention here that spelling 
by letter is not a part of the general plan until about the 
time the pupils take up the use of the book. One must 
not imagine, however, that pupils are not learning any- 
thing of the subject of spelling. They are getting word 
forms and letter sounds which will make the spelling of 
their stock of sight words and of the new words, as they 
come, so easy that the average pupil will very soon master 
all the old words as well as the new ones. In giving the 
names of the letters, it is well to keep before the pupil's 
mind that while the name of the letter is aitch or el or ef, it 
says, not this name but its elementary sound. 

Sounding Words and Expressing Thought. — When sen- 
tence reading has begun, should there be some word which 



J 



Primary Reading 259 

the child does not recognize, he must be made to feel free 
to make this fact known. He should be helped to pro- 
nounce it for himself, by sounding it or by comparing it 
with some known word. The teacher should avoid mere 
telling whenever possible, and it is nearly always possible 
if the child is thus taught from the beginning. When he 
has made sure that he knows all the words and has the 
thought in his own mind he will have little or no difficulty 
in expressing it orally, just as he has no difficulty in ex- 
pressing a thought of his own because he knows what he 
wants to say and he says it. Herein lies the secret of good 
reading, which is simply saying things just as one would 
talk under exactly similar conditions. But, if the ex- 
pression should be faulty, a little skillful or suggestive 
questioning will usually bring the desired result. If this 
fails, however, as may occasionally happen, some other 
child can almost surely give the sentence with the expres- 
sion wished, and this is preferable to the teacher's giving 
it. Sometimes a child's interpretation may be different 
from the teacher's and yet be allowable. In such cases, 
the final rendition must depend upon what seems the 
most reasonable meaning and the child should be led 
to see this by his judgment and reason rather than by 
mere imitation. But that expressive reading is desirable 
from the first and that it cannot be secured until the 
child has some thought which he wishes to express, 
are facts which should not be forgotten by the teacher 
of beginners. 

At first, this may seem to be a slow method, because 
the teacher must wait until the class has taken in a whole 
sentence, mentally, before a word is spoken. A reason- 
able time must be allowed for doing this, time enough, 
at least, for the large majority of the class to get it. The 
pupils should not be made to feel hurried, though they 



260 The Rural School 

should be encouraged to see who can get it ready first. 
Concentration of attention and interest are both secured 
in this way, for every child is intent upon his own work, 
which is one and the same for all. In the beginning the 
sentences must be quite short so that these may not be 
too much for the mind to grasp and hold at once. Gradu- 
ally, these may be lengthened and made more difficult. 
Interest. — From the first there should be some relation 
of thought between the various sentences of a lesson. 
The idea that they form a story always adds interest and 
makes one eager to know what is coming next. Interest 
is the keynote in all teaching. If one has gained that, 
success, in some measure at least, is certain, while, with- 
out it, learning is forced and slow. In this connection it 
is not amiss to say, that there will be no class interest if 
the teacher is not interested. The new matter must then 
be made alive and of seeming importance if it is to make a 
lasting impression. Introductory talks help to create 
this importance. That the sentences may be as inter- 
esting as possible, they should be of various forms, — 
statements, questions, exclamations and commands. This 
will make them more conversational and give opportunity 
for variety of expression. It is helpful, at all times, to 
make use of the period, the question mark and the ex- 
clamation point as keys to the meaning and proper ex- 
pression of the thought. 

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS 

Use of Cards. — One quick means of reviewing all old 
words is to have them written on large cards, of a size, 
say, 3'' X 5 '' or 3^4" x 6 ". These are held before the 
class and run over rapidly, either in concert or individu- 
ally, as desired. All words may be named by one pupil, 



Primary Reading 261 

or they may be named in turn, or promiscuously, as the 
children's names are called. Sometimes the pupil may 
be allowed to hold all the cards he names, to see who can 
get the most. This gives much drill in a short time with 
little labor. It is also a means of keeping a complete list 
of all words where blackboard space is small. The in- 
ventive teacher will find many ways of giving the drills 
necessary for advancement and confidence in one's own 
ability while, at the same time, avoiding weariness. 

The Transition from Script to Print. — The beginning 
work in reading should be blackboard work, largely, 
using script only. If one has a script chart, that may be 
used; but no chart gives the amount of drill work that is 
necessary. This can be obtained only by the use of the 
board. The printed chart should not be used in the first 
stages because the form of the printed words is suffi- 
ciently different to cause more or less confusion. The 
chart is good for review and drill when the transition is 
made from script to print. Do not use print on the board 
until ready to make this transition. Its use then is prin- 
cipally for the sake of comparison and is of short dura- 
tion. When ready to make the change from script to 
print, which is preparatory to taking up the first book, 
choose words that are similar in the print and the script, 
as: cap, man, little, dog, hop, etc. Introduce the subject 
by some such explanation as the following: Miss S. does 
not wear the same waist every day, but she is still Miss S. 
Susie sometimes wears a red dress, but we still call her 
Susie. Fred had on a white blouse yesterday, but to-day 
he has on a blue blouse. So, children, the words you have 
learned are going to change their dresses in your nice 
new books. Then begin with some such words as those 
given above. At first, write both forms, and later, only 
the printed one. 



262 The Rural School 

The ease with which the pupil will be able to name the 
first words will cause him to lose any fear of difficulty. 
Whenever he cannot pronounce the printed form show 
him the written word for comparison. To do this and to 
teach many printed words quickly, it is an excellent plan 
to have the written form on one card and the printed 
form on another of the drill cards mentioned above, thus : 
man, man. First, show the written form, then the printed 
form, explaining that the words are the same. Have 
pupils name both forms. After considerable drill of this 
sort, the printed form should be shown first. If the child 
does not recognize it, he should be shown the written form 
and then the printed form again, which he now names. 
Resemblances and differences should be noted. 

Danger of Using the Book too Soon. — A very common 
and serious error made by teachers is that of giving a book 
too soon. This is generally due, no doubt, to a lack of 
appropriate seat or busy work, with which to keep the 
child employed when he is not actually reciting. The 
teacher feels, and rightly, that the child must be occu- 
pied. Generally, more harm than good is done by such 
procedure, for the child has not sufficient knowledge really 
to study a book for several weeks — the number varying 
from six to twelve, according to the age of pupils and 
the time the teacher has to devote to this work. No 
primer or first reader can give the required amount of 
drill on all the words used to make the child proficient 
in this recognition and use, and, if he is held to the book, 
without a great deal of supplemental work, very soon he 
has gotten beyond the boundary of his knowledge into a 
region whose objects and paths are all unknown to him. 
Sometimes he will learn the stories by rote but cannot 
begin to pronounce the words when they are taken pro- 
miscuously, or, perhaps, he cannot even read the stories 



Primary Reading 263 

without the aid of the pictures. Since a child who has 
been given his book too soon reads it but poorly, he is 
of necessity obliged to *' go through it " — he does not 
really read it — several times. 

Supplementary Readers. — It is a waste of precious time 
to read the primer and, at least, the first two readers of a 
series more than once. This does not necessarily mean, 
however, that a child should take the second reader as 
soon as he has read one first reader. It would be far 
better, as a rule, to read at least two sets of first and 
second readers before taking the next higher book in the 
regular series. These supplementary books are often con- 
venient to use in testing the child's ability to read at 
sight. If the exercise chosen is somewhat simpler than 
that which he has been accustomed to read after study and 
contains but few new or difficult words, the pupil should 
be able to read it with a reasonable degree of accuracy 
and fluency. In order that the supplemental books do 
not become too common, it is not a bad plan for the 
teacher to keep them on her desk or on the shelves, except 
at such times as when she wishes the class to use them or 
when she allows a child to use one as a special reward or 
privilege. Their possession, then, becomes an honor, and 
the book itself, an object of respect. 

Unless a book is very well graded, and sometimes even 
in such cases, it is frequently advisable to take the lessons 
in some other order than the one in the book. This may 
be due to a season, a holiday, to the study of some par- 
ticular author, or subject. 

Occasionally a part of each recitation should be used 
in discussing the meaning of the more difficult and un- 
usual words and expressions, that these may become a 
part of the pupil's actual working vocabulary and insure 
a better understanding of future reading. 



264 The Rural School 

Synonyms and Meaning of Words. — An interesting 
drill at times is the finding of synonyms. The teacher may 
help by giving other sentences using the word in the same 
sense, then asking the pupils to suggest a new word mean- 
ing the same thing. This work may begin even in the 
primer and the first-reader classes and be given more and 
more attention as the grade advances. Too often it is 
taken for granted that a child knows the meaning of a 
word because it is small or because he has no difficulty 
in pronouncing it. A child who knows his phonics and 
can pronounce hill and 7nill, can also pronounce rill, but it 
is very probable that he may not know that it means a 
tiny stream. Likewise, he may know book and brook, but 
since in some sections the term brook is not commonly 
heard, he may not know the meaning of the word. 

Reading the Lesson to the Class. — Some teachers make 
the mistake of reading the lesson aloud to the class, before 
they study it, as a part of the assignment. If this is to 
be read by the teacher, it should be after the child has 
done his best with it, aided by the teacher's questions 
and suggestions. If the teacher is a good reader, he can 
do a great deal to help and inspire his pupils, by reading 
much that is good, yet, at the same time, bright, interest- 
ing and suited to his hearers. Many things of this sort 
will bear frequent readings and will be liked better and be 
of more value, because of their repetition and familiarity. 

Good Literature. — Some one has said that it is a crime 
to teach a child to read and not teach him what to read 
or not teach him to love the best in literature. There is 
so much that is good and within the comprehension of 
little children, that it is a waste of time to give them that 
which caters to no legitimate need in their natural devel- 
opment or that which is trashy. We must not forget that 
childhood revels in fairy tales and '' make believe " and 



Primary Reading 265 

the youth delights in the tales of adventure, of prowess 
and of chivalry. Each has a right to have his desire satis- 
fied. One needs to choose carefully, to be sure there is 
some element of ethical good, though one is not compelled 
to lug in bodily the moral of each one and label it as 
such. It is sometimes well enough to let the moral sug- 
gest itself to the child's mind, even though it is not always 
the one the teacher would suggest. 

In the " make believe " age, the flowers, the trees, the 
animals, all inanimate things must be made to live, to 
act, to talk. At the same time we are allowing the child 
to develop his power of imagination, it is often advisable 
to remind him, occasionally, that it is only pretence after 
all, in order that the too impressionable child shall not 
really come to believe, as true, much that is only legend 
or fable. This need not, however, be emphasized to the 
extent of deadening vitality or destroying interest, for 
such stories afford an excellent opportunity for obtaining 
that much desired characteristic of good reading, animated 
and natural expression, as well as helping to create and 
then supply a natural desire in this stage of mental de- 
velopment. " Blessings upon him who first invented 
books " and then upon the one who helps others to appre- 
ciate them. 



Chapter m 
LANGUAGE WORK 

Importance of Subject. — A subject of vital importance 
in any school course, and yet one more often neglected 
than almost any other at the time when the utmost care 
should be exercised, is that of language. Language is 
both the science and art of expressing one's self accurately 
and easily. 

Correct Habits. — It is one of the subjects which must 
be acquired by practice and example rather than by rule. 
Or, as one has put it, it is one that is " caught as well as 
taught." One may be versed in all the laws of the subject, 
may have them at his tongue's end, and yet display the 
most wonderful ignorance of their application and the 
greatest skill in disregarding and breaking them in his 
daily conversation and use. Bad habits of speech formed 
in childhood are hard to overcome. A child whose asso- 
ciates use good language, will himself form correct habits 
of speech by imitation without the aid of rules. If they 
talk not only correctly but well, he is quite apt to do the 
same. Hence, in primary language work, habits and 
practice are worth much; rules, but little. 

Suggestions and Methods of Procedure. — Language 
is of two kinds, spoken and written. Since language work 
has to do so largely with the spoken word, the thoughtful, 
careful teacher finds no lack of opportunity to teach 
language even though his program is ever so crowded, 
and no time is available for separate daily recitations. 

266 



Language Work 267 

Almost every exercise offers many and varied opportuni- 
ties for teaching this subject. In schools where errors in 
speech are habitual and constant, correction of errors 
must be as habitual and constant. While the vigilance 
may never be relaxed, yet the work must be done kindly 
and unobtrusively as a matter of course. If the child 
talking freely should say, " When I come to school," or 
^' Tom and me," the teacher may say " When I came to 
school " or " Tom and I," and the pupil corrects himself 
and goes on without confusion or shame. But whether 
the work is written or oral, spasmodic attacks of care and 
exactness, no matter how energetically carried on, can 
effect much less than the quiet continuous efforts. Also, 
when the application of one principle has been made, 
every violation of that principle should be noticed until 
its improper use is the rare exception rather than the 
rule. Mastery is indicated by the correct use of the form 
without conscious effort. 

Language has to do not only with the ability to express 
one's self, but also with the additional ability to express 
one's self well, that is, freely, easily, connectedly and in- 
terestingly. It not only enables a person to have some- 
thing to say, but it gives him the power to say it. He who 
has suffered from the feeling that he cannot say what he 
wishes, or from the equally painful one that he has abso- 
lutely nothing to say, can realize what it is worth to a 
child or a man to have something to say and to have 
power to say it. 

No one can express himself who has nothing to express. 
In this thought lies many a hint for the language teacher. 
Not the least element of her work is to see that the pupil's 
mind is supplied with material worthy of expression, and 
when this is done, there will be few who will not feel a 
willingness, even an eagerness to express themselves. The 



268 The Rural School 

expression will need to be directed, but this direction will 
be acceptable and valuable now, whereas, without the 
language material, it would have been meaningless. 

Language work must necessarily be almost entirely 
oral for the first year, and largely so for a much longer 
period; the amount of written and really technical work 
increasing from year to year as the child advances. 

The work may and should begin in the lower grades in 
connection with reading lessons and in conversation about 
things of general interest to the pupil. They are then 
apt to express themselves freely and are unconscious of 
any effort on the part of the teacher to form their minds 
or shape their expression. A child must talk, before the 
teacher can assist greatly in forming correct speech or 
aid materially in facilitating it. 

Language may be taught incidentally in connection 
with all school subjects, in as much as correct language 
should be insisted upon at all times, but such exercises 
should not and cannot take the place of definite and 
distinct language work. Because the mind is occupied 
with the subject matter of the lesson rather than with 
the careful expression of the facts as an end in itself, ex- 
pression in full, complete and careful statements dis- 
closes one's grasp of the thought of the lesson. Under 
such conditions, if one is called upon to express his ideas, 
he must systematize and formulate them and is thus 
given mental exercise. The attempt to recite under such 
conditions discloses to him what he knows clearly and 
what but poorly. Sometimes we think we know, but when 
we attempt to express our thoughts, we discover them to 
be hazy and disorganized. 

The frequent writing of a paragraph or two in connec- 
tion with the various lessons is a good practice, serving 
the double purpose of a short test and a language lesson 



I 



Language Work 269 

• 
as well; but the thought should be emphasized that lan- 
guage work as language work should be given a place 
on the program. 

Too often this work, instead of keeping the language 
element uppermost, is made to be an exercise in elemen- 
tary grammar. This is especially apt to be true in the 
case of inexperienced teachers, for the reason that the 
technical matter is easier to present. It does not require 
as much skill or originality in presenting and it lends itself 
to being memorized in a parrot-like way by the pupils, 
thus making a show of knowledge whether its import is 
well understood or not. 

Some of the technical work and the mechanics of 
composition, such as punctuation, capitalization, etc., are 
necessary as soon as the written work is begun. But the 
grammar feature should not be allowed to predominate 
during the first four or five school years. The business 
of this period is to gather ideas and thoughts, material to 
express, and marked ability to express it. The usual lan- 
guage book will be an aid to the teacher but should not 
be in the hands of the pupil before the fourth, or better, 
the fifth grade. 

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR 

Some of the topics which may be presented orally long 
before it would be advisable to study a language book 
formally are: 

1. The kinds of sentences, as to meaning, and their 
punctuation. 

2. Quotations and their punctuation. 

3. Possessives, singular and plural. 

4. Use of capitals in sentences, proper nouns, poetry, 
quotations, I and O. 

5. Contractions. 



270 The Rural School 

All of these may be studied as their use occurs in con- 
nection with the reading lessons. After that they may be 
reviewed frequently or noticed as they appear again and 
again in the various lessons. A very limited study may 
be given to some of the parts of speech; as the noun, pro- 
noun, verb and adjective, but the following should receive 
more careful attention; viz., a and an; this, that, these, 
those; is, was, were; has and have; lie, lay; sit, set; rise, 
raise; teach and learn. 

Pupils should not be given formal rules and definitions 
and asked to learn them. Instead, the rules or defini- 
tions should be developed in the class and the pupil led 
to formulate them from what he has actually seen or done. 

For example, suppose it is desired to develop the rule 
that, " Most nouns form their plurals by adding ' s ' to 
the singular form," or that " Nouns ending in s, sh, ch, 
X or z make their plurals by adding ' es ' to the singular 
form." For the first rule present a long list of nouns or 
write the list as the pupils give the nouns. Then ask 
them to give the corresponding word meaning more 
than one. Note how many of the words add " s " 
merely. Compare this number with the number that 
make their plural in some other way. What is the 
comparative number? Make other lists, have pupils 
make long lists, and compare as before. What may 
we say about most nouns? " Most nouns make their 
plural by adding ' s ' to the singular." 

To develop the " es " rule, one might choose from the 
list already made those words whose plural is made by 
adding " es " to the singular; or a list of such words 
might be placed on the board by the teacher. Pupils 
should then give the plurals, spelling each one and tell- 
ing what is added. Following are a few suggestions for 
such an exercise. 



Language Work 271 

dress plus es equals dresses 



class 




es 




classes 






dish 




es 




dishes 






church 




es 




churches 






watch 




es 




watches 






bench 




es 




benches 






box 




es 




boxes 






fez 




es 




fezes 






topaz 




es 




topazes 






tax 




es 




taxes 






wish 




es 




wishes 






jound did 


the 


first word end? 


With 


" s.^' 



The word dishf The next word, and the next, etc.? With 
what other sounds than s, sh, ch, x or z did any of the 
words in the list end? Examination shows none; deduce 
from this illustration that, " Nouns ending in s, sh, ch, 
x or z make their plural form by adding '' es " to their 
singular. (Ox is an exception to this rule.) In like man- 
ner we can develop the rules for other plurals, for the use 
of a, and an, this, that, is, are, etc. That which the child 
helps to develop and formulate has more meaning to him 
than that which he simply learns to repeat mechanically 
and of which he makes no practical application. It is 
unnecessary to learn many rules, but such as are learned 
should be definite and exact and should be developed 
carefully before they are memorized. 

Discussions sometimes grow long over such questions 
as, " Shall we say noun or name word, verb or action word, 
or asking or interrogative sentence? " There seems to 
be a golden mean between these two extremes. In gen- 
eral, use the technical term from the beginning if its mean- 
ing is understood by the child, otherwise use a simpler 
term. For instance, the meaning of the term " action 
word " is easier for the child to comprehend than the 
word " verb," but we must make sure that only " action 



272 The Rural School 

words '' are included under the term. In like manner, 
the term " asking sentence '' has more meaning than 
interrogative sentence. Consequently one must exercise 
his judgment and present such matters in the way best 
suited to the needs of his pupils. 

LANGUAGE PROPER 

There is no end to the material that may be used for 
this work. It naturally divides itself into several groups 
or classes of exercises: observational work, picture sto- 
ries, letters and other original compositions, paraphra- 
sing, reproduction and dictation exercises. Variety is 
good but one should avoid scattering efforts. 

Whichever plan is followed, the same line of work can 
be pursued through the first four grades simply by de- 
manding more work and greater excellence from the 
classes as they advance. 

As was said before, the work of the first grade must 
consist almost entirely of oral exercises, conversational in 
character. A few simple sentences and an occasional 
paragraph, which have been first written on the board, 
and noted with respect to capitalization and punctuation, 
are about all the written work that can with reason be 
expected from this grade. The second grade can do this 
and more. They command a larger vocabulary both in 
speech and in abihty to spell, and may occasionally be 
expected to write an entire little story. They should be 
able to see, to think and to reason more clearly and 
deeply than first-grade pupils. 

Observational Work. — The conversational and obser- 
vational period gives much opportunity for nature study 
and there is endless material from which to choose. This 
should be as seasonable and appropriate as possible. 



i 



Language Work 273 

In the fall there may be study of some of the autumn 
flowers; the sunflower, the aster, the goldenrod; of the 
autumn leaves and the preparation of plants, animals 
and insects for winter. A little later some time may be 
spent in studying the familiar forms of moisture; such as, 
rain, mist, fog, dew, hail, sleet, frost and snow. Compare 
rain and hail, frost and snow, mist and sleet, dew and 
frost, fog and clouds, etc. We may call this work geog- 
raphy, nature work or what we please when it is pre- 
sented, but in its final expression it is language work. 

Another interesting topic for rural children is the study 
of birds. Pupils will be interested in observing their 
habits of migration, and many of their prominent charac- 
teristics; such as bills, bodies and feet of swimmers; legs 
and necks of waders; feet and bills of scratchers. 

Thanksgiving time gives a chance to correlate language 
and history in the story of the Pilgrims and early life in 
the colonies. Christmas has its story, a many-sided one 
if we choose to make it so; and it affords a good oppor- 
tunity to present some of the Madonnas. Though the 
little people need not be expected to analyze them crit- 
ically, if they feel something of their meaning, that is 
sufficient. The feeling will probably reveal itself in 
speech. 

Springtime brings more material than one can pos- 
sibly use; seeds, their germination and modes of growth, 
signs of returning life in plants and all nature, resem- 
blances and differences in flowers and fruit blossoms. It 
will be profitable to give some study to some of the more 
common botanical families, such as the rose family, to 
which most of our fruits belong, and the lily family, which 
is also very large. It is easily seen that from the nature 
side alone there is a limitless field upon which to draw 
for material. 



274 The Rural School 

Pictures. — Pictures are both interesting and helpful in 
language work. The power acquired in seeing things in 
the observational work is here put to another and further 
test. In the first exercise in which pictures are used there 
should not be too many details and the subject should 
be such as has meaning for the child mind and is pleasing 
to it. Pictures of children, their pets, their sports, and 
their work are good subjects. They should first be taught 
to see and express the large, distinguishing features. If 
a child says, " I have a picture of a little girl and her 
dog," it does not mean anything in particular; but, if 
she says, " I have a picture of a little girl teaching her 
dog to sit up in a chair and hold a stick on his nose," or, 
'' In this picture there is a little girl lying fast asleep on 
the ground under a big tree with a big shaggy dog watch- 
ing over her," we do not need to have the picture before 
us, because the mental eye can see the essential features 
unaided by the physical eye. 

After the picture is generalized in this manner, the 
attention should be centered upon the lesser details in 
the order of their importance. Care should be exercised 
to see that the treatment is not given in a hit and miss 
manner. That is, when one has started in to describe 
the dress and appearance of the little girl in the above 
picture, he should not break off and give something about 
the dog and then return for some added information about 
the little girl. This is a most common fault in the work 
of beginners. They seem to find it difficult to hold the 
mind to a logical order until much practice has fixed it 
as a custom. This is the beginning of the work of para- 
graphing, for a paragraph is only a group of related 
sentences. 

Another error to be guarded against is that of connect- 
ing entirely unrelated things by and. A question or a 



Language Work 275 

suggestion will be sufficient to show that, since there is 
no relation in thought, there should be none in written 
expression. The other extreme is the use of too many 
short sentences, the monotonous repetition of the same 
form, as: '' I see," '' I see," '' The girl is," '' The girl has," 
etc. By questions or suggestions the teacher needs to 
show that the same thought may be said in many differ- 
ent ways. He needs to show also how a few details will 
enliven the otherwise commonplace and uninteresting 
story. Try to make the child see that he is to tell his 
story in a way entirely different from that in which any 
one else will tell it. Illustration: Any one can say, '' The 
boy has a pair of new skates," but not every one would 
say, '' The boy's skates, which seem to be bright and new, 
are hung across his shoulder by a long strap." Or it is 
perfectly correct to say, " The little girl has curly hair," 
but it is far more interesting to say, " The wind has blown 
one of the little girl's curls across her plump cheek." 

In all original sentence work, if the teacher will em- 
phasize the thought that each sentence should express 
an idea in the writer's own peculiar way, different from 
the way any one else would express it, he will accomplish 
many beneficial results in the field of story writing. 

In picture work as well as in other composition exer- 
cises, careful distinction should be made between descrip- 
tion and imaginative writing. Usually it will be suffi- 
cient to distinguish them by pointing out that the de- 
scription tells what is actually seen or known, while in a 
story there is much " make believe." One writes what 
the picture makes him think might or would happen. It 
will be found that there is a decided tendency to mix the 
present and past forms, but this can usually be corrected 
before pupils reach the fifth grade. 

Pictures to be used for imaginative work should be 



276 The Rural School 

such as are really suggestive, and then the mind should 
confine itself within reasonable limits and not imagine 
too much that the picture does not warrant. The mind 
may be directed into the proper channel by questions, and 
stiffness and bareness be avoided, by such suggestive 
questions as the following: "What did he have in the 
basket? ", " What did he do with it? ", " What did she 
say? ", " What did he answer? ", etc. 

It is necessary to criticise written work and to note 
where improvement can be made; but it is as helpful and 
encouraging to call attention to any good sentences and 
paragraphs. This is helpful to the less skillful by showing 
them what is desirable. 

Letter Writing. — Letter writing is an important part 
of language work. The greater part of a person's written 
work after leaving school is in this line. If one stops to 
think about it, he knows that the writing of friendship 
letters is an accomplishment of no mean sort, or art if 
you please, and that there are comparatively few artists. 
This is unfortunate, for next in importance to seeing and 
talking with our friends comes our correspondence with 
them. Who does not like to get a letter? But cannot 
every one recall with what little enthusiasm he has opened 
some letters and again how eagerly he has opened others? 
How anxious he has been to learn what the writer has to 
say, to say, for a letter is only a one-sided conversation 
with the pen, instead of the tongue. 

The contents of the first letter mentioned above, if it 
be from a regular correspondent, can very nearly be told 
without reading. It is a series of stereotyped phrases 
about the weather and other items of equal interest, 
well intended but without character or special meaning. 
The second letter is filled with bright little things on 
commonplace subjects, perhaps — even health and the 



Language Work 277 

weather as before, but they are said in a way they have 
never been said before and may never be said again. 

The following will illustrate the two styles: One per- 
son will say, '' I got up before sunrise this morning but 
the birds were singing gayly even then." The second 
person conveys the same thought in somewhat this style: 
" The sun has not shone for several days and, thinking 
that perhaps Mr. Sun might be displeased with the seem- 
ing lack of welcome in this lie-a-bed-in-the-morning com- 
munity, I determined last night to give him a surprise, 
if he would but show his shining morning face to-day, so 
I arose, not bright and early, but just early. But the birds 
were earlier than I, and how they did sing. One bird near 
the house sang as though he were so full of music that he 
would certainly burst, if he did not discharge some of it 
from his beautiful little music box at once. It poured 
out so fast that I feared he would choke on some of the 
longer notes. One almost imagined he had been given a 
certain number of exercises to sing before he could have 
any breakfast and that he was so very, very hungry. At 
the same time he sang exultantly as though he had just 
heard that the last cat in the world had but recently been 
hung and the last boy with a sling shot had been banished 
from bird land for ever. 

" But enough about birds, except to say it would be 
well worth one's time to rise before sunrise every morn- 
ing, if he could hear such a concert as I heard this morn- 
ing at so little expense — tickets : a few seeds, bugs, worms 
and berries, some water and a shady safe place for a nest. 
If you do not know what I mean, try the experiment and 
learn. It has made me feel like organizing a sunrise club." 

There is no particular merit, except that of original- 
ity, in this extract, but it illustrates the point in ques- 
tion; one has told a common thing in an unconmion way. 



278 The Rural School 

Not every one is full of fancies, but if he is drilled care- 
fully in telling of every-day experiences in a variety of 
ways, one need not always be painfully commonplace. 
Letter writing is a good form of composition for this kind 
of work. One writes about those things in which he is 
interested and to those who will be interested in the 
same things. 

This is a point worthy of consideration in all composi- 
tion work, and especially in the lower grades. Write 
about things in which there is interest if possible, but 
certainly write about something about which we have or 
can obtain some information, rather than about some ab- 
straction, like '^ Cheerfulness " in which there is no cheer, 
or " Courage " which is performed with fear and trem- 
bling. There should be vital contact between experience 
and expression. 

Some of the topics which may be used as the basis of 
school letters are telling of one's school work, subjects he 
likes best and why; describing a school game; telling 
about a special program, picnic or excursion; relating 
some story read; description of schoolroom; our Christ- 
mas tree; what I want to do or what I did during vaca- 
tion; a walk, a trip to town; how I raised corn for the 
fair; my trip to the corn-judging contest; etc., etc. 

While the body of the letter gives opportunity for the 
cultivation of expression, it also affords a field for study 
of the character of the writer. The letter is the most 
personal of all forms of composition and the young writer 
rather unconsciously puts himself into his letters and thus 
reveals his true self and gives the teacher a hint that 
may be of future value. 

Letter writing is a good exercise in another respect in 
that, while there is great latitude as to body, or content, 
there is the greatest formality in other matters. Strict 



Language Work 279 

regulations govern form and position of heading, address, 
salutation and superscription. Care should be exercised 
in teaching these, and frequent repetitions are necessary 
to fix them firmly in the mind. The things to be observed 
are few and simple, but exactness in this respect is the 
exception rather than the rule. 

After there has been much drill on the ordinary or 
friendship letter, the more advanced grades may give 
some attention to business forms, invitations and replies, 
both formal and informal. 

Reproduction Stories. — A reproduction story is one in 
which the form and substance are retained, but the exact 
wording is not followed. 

Stories for reproduction should be such as are w^orthy 
of a place in the memory. They may be little myths, 
fables, stories of ethical value, with the moral not too 
evident, fairy stories and stories of people and things. 
As in descriptions and imaginative stories, the reproduc- 
tion of these stories must be oral at first. Later they may 
be written. 

The repetition of some of these stories may be a pleasing 
feature of the morning exercises. This offers an oppor- 
tunity for their frequent repetition, so all may become 
familiar with them, and for many pupils to tell the same 
story without becoming weary of it. At first, it is quite 
likely that only the bare outlines will be given. This is 
better than nothing as a beginning, but one should not 
be satisfied with this long, for such work will develop 
little skill in the use of language. One of the objects of 
the reproduction story is to supply good material for in- 
crease of vocabulary as well as to cultivate attention and 
memory. The repetition of the actual words of the story 
will accustom the pupil to one use of these words. As 
far as possible, the meaning should be made evident, as 



280 The Rural School 

by this means many of the unusual words and expressions 
will gradually become a part of the child's own language 
stock in trade. 

It is well for teachers to recognize that many of the 
expressions are figurative, and though full of meaning to 
the understanding mind, may be vague and confusing to 
the child. Care in this respect would cause fewer chil- 
dren to wonder why the boy " laughed in his sleeve," or 
how a horse could " eat his head off." Though it is better 
some misunderstandings than no understandings, yet chil- 
dren are capable of comprehending more, if rightly pre- 
sented, than many people suppose. 

Paraphrasing. — Paraphrasing may be considered as one 
form of reproduction work. It is a helpful exercise and 
its advantages are two. First, it requires careful inquiry 
into the meaning of the selection to be changed; and then 
it requires a re-expression of the meaning in pupils' own 
words. Paraphrasing bears some relation to translating 
from a foreign tongue into one's own. In an effort to 
translate the author's language it becomes a part of the 
translator's. The explanation of proverbs, maxims, etc., 
is a related exercise and is excellent to develop a pupil's 
power of expression and as a test of his understanding 
of figurative speech. 

Dictation Exercises. — Dictation exercises are a good 
means of testing how readily a child can apply the knowl- 
edge he has gained. Short sentences and brief exercises 
may be given which will contain a vast amount of the 
mechanics of writing, such as: , punctuation, capitaliza- 
tion, possessives, quotations, contractions, abbreviations, 
margins, indentations of paragraphs, etc. Dictation ex- 
ercises should be corrected, at least have the errors in- 
dicated and returned to the writer for correction and re- 
writing. They are of no particular value to the child 



Language Work 281 

unless this is done. As constant repetition of the act of 
walking at last produces an almost automatic action, so 
long-continued, painstaking, and well-directed practice 
in the art of writing and speaking will bring about a de- 
gree of excellence and facility in these lines which other- 
wise could not be expected. A child, to derive much 
benefit from dictation exercises, must have its errors 
indicated and the correct forms emphasized and im- 
pressed upon his mind by being required to rewrite the 
exercise correctly. In fact, it is a good plan to collect 
most of the written work. If it is thought the work is 
to be inspected, better work will be accomplished than 
otherwise would be. Often it pleases and encourages the 
children, if the best productions are preserved and ex- 
hibited on the wall or reading table. It makes the work 
seem of more value and consequence. This is true in 
other work besides language. 

Lastly, if the teacher can create the idea that story 
telling and story writing is a great privilege and '^ lots of 
fun," he will simplify language work wonderfully. Chil- 
dren ought to, and do like to express themselves, when 
they have been helped as to what and how. They should 
be glad, rather than displeased, at the thought of a com- 
position; and they will be, under the inspiration of a good 
language teacher. 



Chapter IV 
BUSY WORK, WHAT AND HOW 

That mischief for idle hands to do will be found, is no- 
where truer than in the schoolroom. Much of the dislike 
entertained by many little people for school is directly 
traceable to the dreadful monotony and dreary round of 
day after day with little else to do except to swing the 
feet and long for the home-going hour to come if one is 
disposed to be good, or to make things lively for the 
teacher and school if one is wide-awake and averse to 
losing any time. 

As was said in a former chapter, the little people five 
or six years old, as the case may be, when they start in 
the rural school, cannot and should not be expected to 
'^ study " in the usual acceptance of the word. Too often 
this is expected and they are given a book. About the 
only result is, that the charm of the book is worn off 
before the child is able to use it to any advantage, and 
when he might use it he does not enjoy it because there 
is nothing new. Possibly he knows the stories, even 
though he cannot read them; and some of them at least 
he has droned over till no interest or life remains in them. 
Board work and busy work should fill the first two or 
three months of school life, and fill it so full that there is 
no need of a book to occupy the time. 

Object of " Busy Work." — This is a much abused term. 
Too often it is thought of as merely something to consume 

282 



4 



Busy Work, What and How 283 

the time of the little people so that they may not be idle 
or have time for mischief. Were there no other purpose, 
this would be better than that they should learn habits of 
idleness only, but this is not the purpose of real busy work. 
Busy work in its true sense is real work. It is a manifes- 
tation of mind through matter before it can manifest itself 
abstractly. Its aim and object is to emphasize and drill 
upon instruction previously given or to prepare the way 
for that which is to follow. The child is not able to read 
or write, but he is able to think and to execute some of 
his thoughts by means of his hands and materials. If 
he is allowed thus to express himself, his school hours, 
which otherwise might be worse than wasted, may be 
happily and profitably spent and he may be gaining 
ability to express himself in other ways — may be laying 
the foundation for future building. 

Even the child who can study is given new interest in 
his work, and will often gladly do tasks, such as making 
the combinations of twelve, or writing numbers in the 
Roman notation, if he is permitted to do so by using a 
number box, or cardboard forms, or colored toothpicks, 
or peg board, because it is a change and a. rest from the 
usual work. We must not forget the truth that " variety 
is the spice of life," and that children especially require 
frequent changes of occupation. 

Many teachers fail to supply themselves with sufficient 
and suitable busy work because they think they cannot 
afford to purchase such material. Even were it necessary 
to buy the material at a considerable expense, it would be 
economy in the end. Much can be purchased at fairly 
reasonable prices, but much if not quite all of the more 
common and most essential supplies can be made by any 
one willing to give to the matter some time, thought 
and labor. 



284 • The Rural School 

BUSY WORK FOR YOUNGER PUPILS 

Number Work and Material. — In number work a child 
must learn to recognize numbers and figures. Often he 
can count to five or ten or farther when he enters the 
school, but this does not imply that he knows numbers. 
A slight examination usually discloses the fact that num- 
bers are not known beyond three or four, or possibly five. 
After instruction in these matters is given in class, the 
necessary drill to fix it firmly may be given in a great 
many forms by means of busy work. Colored cardboard 
forms — squares, triangles, circles, etc., toothpicks, pegs, 
corn, etc., may be used. The cardboard can be obtained 
in sheets at a printing office and cut as desired. The 
toothpicks, the ordinary cheap kind, can be purchased 
in large-sized boxes for five cents and colored with Easter- 
egg dyes. These dyes can be had in eight colors for five 
cents. One package will color a great quantity. 

Ask the pupil to place one, two, three, etc., objects on 
his desk, using any of the above-named materials. For 
example : 

n DD nan 

A AA AAA 



Wooden beads, colored or plain, may be strung to illus- 
trate the same numbers. When colored materials are 
employed it is well to use but one color for a single num- 
ber, but different colors may be used for the different 



Busy Work, What and How 285 

numbers. The wooden beads, which may be purchased 
at ahnost any book store, come in the six standard colors, 
about sixty in a box, in three forms, spheres, cubes and 
cyhnders. These may be strung on shoe strings, which 
are easily handled. The colors make the necessary 
divisions into groups. If smaller beads of one color are 
used, they are strung with coarse needle and thread, and 
little perforated cardboard forms are used to separate 
into groups. These little forms are placed in the boxes 
with the beads, so are always ready. 

Many rural teachers can supply themselves with pretty 
red beads without cost by gathering wild rose hips — 
buds, as they are sometimes erroneously called. These 
hips may also be strung on wires, about twelve on 
each, and used as individual numeral frames. 

[joooooooooooofl 

other beads may be made by cutting small cane or sor- 
ghum stalks in quarter-inch or half-inch lengths and per- 
forating them with a large darning needle or wire so that 
they may be strung easily. 

If one does not wish to purchase peg boards, which cost 
from ten to fifteen cents each, he may make them by 
taking a flat, smooth board about seven inches square, 
ruling it off into half-inch squares and making a hole at 
each intersection with a round or wire nail. The pegs 
themselves are very cheap and come in the six standard 
colors. The round ones are best for the peg boards, but 
the square ones are best for all general purposes. 

All grades, even up to the fifth, will think it great fun 
— no work at all — to make the Roman numerals with 
colored toothpicks or pegs, while to write them is some- 



286 The Rural School 

times a task. All numbers up to ninety can be made 
easily, and even C and D are not too hard. 

I VI XIV Lll CD MM 

The forms shown represent all necessary characters. 

All the materials already mentioned can also be used 
to make combinations of numbers, large or small. For 
example, toothpicks, using different colors to represent 
different numbers, may be used thus: || (red), ||| (blue), 
mil (yellow), etc.; read, 2 + 3=5. Pegs of one color 
may be used entirely to make, H-j- ||| = ||i||, signs and 
all. Corn — red, white, and yellow — can also be used. 
Lightweight cardboard or heavy paper forms may serve 
the same purpose. The forms are used to represent the 
numbers, and narrow strips and small squares to make the 
signs. 

AAAAA=AA^AAA 
0000^00=00 

oossoo^oooo 

For a lesson in form and color, as well as in numbers, 
the above work may be written on the board with colored 
crayon ^ and the pupils required to reproduce it in the 

^ A few sticks of colored crayons are of great assistance in pri- 
mary work. Colors appeal to a child and afford him great pleas- 
ure. They offer a means of securing variety of work, and variety 
often means interest. 



Busy Work, What and How 287 

same form and colors. Do not hesitate to call all forms 
by their right names and teach pupils to do so. They 
will thus get much information without conscious effort. 
Much of the work suggested above can be done before 
the child has learned to recognize figures. After he has 
learned these, he may be required to reproduce the above 
stories and many similar ones in figures, or the figures 
may be given and the child allowed to build them with 
the objects. Thus he associates numbers with figures. 
Later, the answers or any one of the figures may be 
omitted and the child required to complete the story. 
Again, he may be given the material and merely asked 
to form all the combinations that make five, seven, twelve, 
etc. In this last work, number boxes are very helpful. 
They are easily made from calendar pages of convenient 
size pasted upon heavy paper or lightweight cardboard 
and then cut into squares. The rulings on the calendar 
make the cutting very easy and save time and labor. 
The use of these cards is made much more convenient 
by writing the same number on the reverse side or by 
pasting two calendar pages together, though the latter 
would not give the same number on both sides. In case 
two pages are used, care must be taken to see that the 
rulings coincide, so that no difl&culty shall occur in cut- 
ting. If the characters are written on the reverse side, 
the sheet should be ruled one way to agree with the ruling 
on the opposite side and then cut in the other direction. 
The writing is then easily done in the proper place. The 
blank squares may be used for writing the arithmetical 
signs and extra small numbers. There should be many 
more of the signs and of numbers up to twelve than of 
those beyond twelve, and some of these smaller numbers 
may be written on the reverse side of the large-number 
cards. These cards may be used by the beginners in 



i 



288 The Rural School 

learning to associate name and figure. Pupils may find 
and place in order one to three, one to five, one to ten, 
etc., up to thirty or more if one chooses to add more 
numbers to the boxes. But when they have learned 
figures to thirty there is but little for them to learn be- 
tween that and one hundred, except forty, fifty, sixty, etc. 

Figures may first be placed upon the board, and the 
same ones may be found in the boxes by comparing them 
with the written ones. Afterward they are placed in 
order from memory. Thus, counting and figures are 
correlated. Then objects may be chosen to correspond 
to the figures. Figures and numbers are again correlated. 

The use of the number boxes need not be confined to 
first-grade pupils. They can often be used advantageously 
by second- and third-grade children in constructing com- 
binations and tables, and are a recreation and a rest 
from the constant writing of such work. 
' The toy alphabet and number blocks, which can be 
purchased for five or ten cents a box of from sixteen to 
twenty-five blocks, may be used by the first grade in 
hunting figures and arranging them in order, and may 
also be used by other grades in studying and building 
forms in the subject of cubic measure. In the same way 
the cardboard squares may be used in the study of areas 
and square measure. 

Dominoes, cheap sets of which may be had for five or 
ten cents, may be used as combination blocks, the com- 
binations and answers to be written by pupils. Pupils 
may also be asked to find all blocks that have a four or a 
six, or all blocks whose combination is five or eight, etc. 

Domino combination cards may be made by pasting 
dots or squares upon plain cards. The circles and squares 
may be purchased '' ready gummed " or may be cut from 
colored paper and pasted. 



I 



Busy Work, What and How 



289 



The groups may be of different colors or shape or may 
be indicated by spacing only. These may be used for 
class drill or for seat work. 



°o o 



Elementary Designs. — Many of the things suggested 
for use in number work can be used in drawing or design 
work. The geometric forms, the pegs, the toothpicks, 
etc., can all be used in making borders, outlines of familiar 
objects, etc. Single colors or harmonious combinations 
may be used. Forms found in primers, primary arith- 
metics and other books may be copied. Pupils may be 
asked to make all the designs they can by using three 
sticks, five sticks, etc. For example: 



NHFAee 



Repetitions of any of these forms will give a border. 



DOnOD ITITI 



Reading Helps. — In reading as well as in numbers 
much busy work may be employed profitably. Reading 
boxes are among the most useful supplies. As soon as a 
child knows a few words he should be given a box contain- 
ing a number of copies of these words and be required to 
find as many copies of a given word as he can. Again, 
he may be asked to find a certain number each of several 
different words. Then a list of words may be placed on 



290 The Rural School 

his slate or on the board and he be asked to find each 
word. Later he may be asked to build sentences by hunt- 
ing the required words from the box. At first one sen- 
tence is enough. Later several may be given. Again, 
certain unknown words may be placed in the box and the 
child asked to select all the words he knows and leave the 
others. This may be called gathering flowers, autumn 
leaves, making snowballs, catching fish, etc., according 
to the season, thus making it a game. If he can separate 
known from unknown one may feel reasonably sure that 
he knows the ones he chooses. If one makes use of 
phonograms in teaching reading he may ask a pupil to 
find all the a^-words in his box — cat, rat, iat, etc. — or 
all the an-words ■ — can, ran, ian. As new words are 
added to the list of loiown words they should be added 
to the boxes. 

If one has access to a mimeograph, or any sort of dupli- 
cating machine, a large number of lists of the words 
learned and many sentences using these words may be 
struck off and used as review lists and reading exercises, 
as copies for tracing and writing, and the same lists, 
printed on heavy paper or cardboard, may be used to 
supply the reading boxes, thus saving the labor of writing. 
Several copies of each word should be in every box, and 
as in the case of the number cards, their use will be 
easier if the same word is on each side of the card. Sen- 
tences may be written with spaces wide enough between 
the lines to allow the laying of the corresponding word 
cards below the words. 

Caring for Materials. — And now the question of se- 
curing boxes for all these various supplies is an important 
one. Without boxes or envelopes for each kind of ma- 
terial and for each pupil, the distribution and collection 
of the material takes too much time and is hard upon the 



Busy Work, What and How 291 

material. It is also a good plan to have each box marked 
with the name of the child who is to use it. This renders 
each child responsible, in a way, for the care and preser- 
vation of certain material. This is good both for child 
and material. The child should regard the latter as prop- 
erty, and should be taught to give it care and respect. 
He is thus taught early one lesson in good citizenship. 
The plan of having a certain box for each child is es- 
pecially good if there is any reason why it is best that one 
child should not handle material used by another, and it 
avoids annoyance in the matter. Material that may be 
contaminated may then be destroyed easily without 
much loss. 

All material should be collected at the close of an exer- 
cise and not be left to be handled at will by the pupils 
and become too common. An exercise should not be 
continued so long that pupils become weary of it, but 
each should be required to do the work assigned to the 
very best of his ability,, be that great or small. 

Thread boxes of all kinds are convenient and suitable 
for all busy work material, and they can be secured free 
from any dry goods merchant, if one will but ask to have 
them saved for him. Try to keep a few extras always on 
hand to replace those which become soiled or broken, 
and to receive new material which may be discovered or 
invented from time to time. 

BUSY WORK FOR OLDER PUPILS 

Language, Reading and Spelling Helps. — Additional 
busy, or occupation work, in language, reading and spell- 
ing for older pupils is found in the following exercises: 
Pupils may search for and make lists of all the name 
words, or nouns; the action words; the describing 



292 The Rural School 

words, or adjectives; the singular nouns; the plural 
nouns; possessives, or contractions, etc. Or, he may- 
copy a certain number of sentences of the various kinds 
or all the sentences containing quotations, possessives, 
proper nouns, contractions, etc. Again, he may find all 
the words he can beginning with a certain letter of the 
alphabet, as: all the a-words, all 5- words; or, he may 
take the letters in order, finding a word for each if pos- 
sible, as: apple, haby, cannot, doll, every, etc. 

. Incidentally, the child is studying the reading lesson 
again, wilhngly and advantageously, which he would not 
do if he were merely asked to study his lesson again. He 
would be apt to think he knew it well enough and resent 
being asked to " waste more time " on it. More than 
that, he is unconsciously getting spelling, punctuation 
and arrangement. A little booklet may be made of a 
few sheets of tablet paper folded once, with, perhaps, a 
colored cover, and tied with a colored cord. These may 
be used in second and third grades for writing the lists of 
words mentioned and called spelling books or word books. 
They will help to make willing workers. Pupils may occa- 
sionally be asked to study their a-words, their 6-words, 
etc. The fact that they are not all exactly alike will not 
prevent their being beneficial. 

An old exercise, but a good one to aid in spelling and to 
quicken observation, is to give pupils some long word 
like Madagascar, recognition, or some such word and let 
them make as long a list of words as possible, using only 
the letters found in the word and using them no more 
times in any one word than they are actually found in 
the given word, as: Recognition, — cog, cot, core, coin, 
cone, tin, ton, tone, tine, tire, tore, etc. 

Color and Form Work. — Color and form work offer 
a number of opportunities for seat work. First, there 



Busy Work, What and How 293 

are scissors and plain paper. The pupils may cut def- 
inite forms, squares, circles, triangles, or fruits, vegeta- 
bles, etc. There are usually simple drawings of objects in 
the primers or number books, which the little people may 
try to reproduce by cutting, drawing, or stick-laying. 
Cardboard geometric forms or objects may be traced, if 
pupils are unable to draw them, and then colored with 
drawing crayons, one object of coloring being to get a 
nice, smooth coat of color, and another one to confine 
one's self to the boundary lines, — not an especially 
easy thing for little people to do. 

Another occupation is the cutting out of pictures from 
catalogues, newspapers and similar sources. These may 
also be colored, if desired, though the cutting is the main 
point, because it demands care and attention and trains 
to accuracy. Insist upon pupils being careful of scraps. 
Try to keep them from the floor and gather any that 
chance to fall. 

In the autumn, leaves of many shapes may be traced, 
or drawn and colored. This calls attention to general 
shapes and to character of margins. The teacher may 
trace leaves on cardboard, then perforate them, and use 
them for sewing cards if she wishes. 

Busy work involving comparison may be done by 
using pegs, splints and cardboard forms. Make a line 
one unit long, two units, five units; make square 
figures one unit each way, three units, six units; 
make rectangles one unit by two units, one unit by 
three units, etc. 

Geography Helps. — In geography, the extension of 
this work gives drawing to scale. An occasional exercise 
like the following may serve as seat work. A section of 
country is 100 miles X 60 miles in dimensions. Draw 
plans on the following scales: 



294 The Rural School 

1" equals 10 miles, 

1" equals 20 miles, 
J^'' equals 20 miles, 
}/8'' equals 10 miles. 

Plans of more or less irregular fields, gardens, yards, etc., 
whose dimensions embrace rods, yards and feet may be 
drawn on varying scales also. Little diagrams may be 
made and called maps and the directions marked upon 
them, first, the cardinal points, later the intermediate 
points also. Cut-up maps may be properly assembled or 
the sections used for tracing or drawing. The cut-up 
maps may be purchased at a toy store or old maps may 
be pasted on fairly heavy cardboard and then cut on 
boundary lines, except in the case of the very small states. 
Several of these may be left connected. 

Many of these exercises will doubtless suggest others 
to the teacher who is eager and alert and any and all of 
them may be adapted to suit the occasion and the means 
of application. Without the ability to adapt, many of 
them may lose their vitality and, hence, much of their 
effectiveness. Well used, they will lessen the weariness of 
mind and body of many a child in his " first days " or 
first years in school. 

When one really begins, he will discover in many things 
possibilities which he little suspected. And when one 
once discovers how much is added to the effectiveness of 
his work and to the pleasure of his pupils by " busy work," 
he will never willingly be without a considerable amount 
and variety of such supplies, even at the expense of some 
money and considerable time and labor in its preparation. 



J 



Chapter V 

NUMBERS 
THE NUMBER IDEA 

It will greatly aid in the teaching of numbers or arith- 
metic to have a clear notion of the number idea. Without 
this knowledge the teacher is at sea, not knowing whither 
he is going or which way he should steer his course. For 
our present purpose it is not necessary to go into the 
discussion as to the exact meaning of the term " number," 
but it will be sufficient to know that it is an abstraction 
and is gained in the same way in which any other such 
idea is gained. One gets his conception of the abstraction 
'^ redness " in some such process as the following; viz., he 
sees a red flower, a red ribbon, a red dress, a red sky, etc. 
After a time the mind eliminates or abstracts all material 
from these ideas and leaves the idea of redness. By a 
similar process the child gets his idea of number. He gets 
his idea of the number two, not from the contemplation 
of the figure 2, but from seeing, using, and handling ob- 
jects, as two ears of corn, two horses, two eyes, etc. In- 
deed, he should have some notion of two before ever the 
figure is presented for his consideration and his concep- 
tion of two should be quite clear before he is given such 
a problem as: 1 and 1 equals f In " The Psychology of 
Number," by McLellan and Dewey, number is defined as 
" The measure of quantity." It has also been defined as 
'' The measure of the relation of things of the same kind," 

295 



296 The Rural School 

and '' That abstract species of quantity which is capable 
of being expressed by figures." The old definition of 
number as a '' unit or collection of units " is not tech- 
nically true. One cannot see three, but may see three 
horses, three dollars, or three fingers. That our number 
idea is something apart from the objects is evident from 
the following: If a number is a collection of units, two 
crayons is a collection of units and is the number two; 
for a similar reason two dollars is two also; but number 
two must equal number two, hence two crayons equal 
two dollars, which is absurd. To every mature mind the 
number idea in these two groups of objects is the same, 
but it is apart from the objects themselves. 

OBJECTS OF NUMBER TEACHING 

With the above brief discussion of the number idea as 
a starting point, it may now be in place to consider the 
objects of number teaching. By numbers is here meant 
the whole subject of arithmetic as taught in the common 
schools. 

I. To Develop the Number Idea. — The first object of 
number teaching should be the development of a correct 
number idea. If this is an abstraction as suggested above, 
it indicates that objects should be used in the develop- 
ment of this idea, and that there should be a variety of 
objects. If a child never saw any red object except a red 
rose, he would never get the notion of redness apart from 
a rose; it is necessary that he see a number of red objects. 
So with the child in getting the number notion, he should 
receive it from a variety of objects. Not from three fin- 
gers alone, not from three marks on the blackboard only; 
but from three fingers, three chickens, three pigs, three 
yards, three pints, etc. The lack of a variety of ob- 



Numbers 297 

jects and a proper use of them may be the cause of the 
bad practice so common in our schools of counting in 
addition instead of adding. The counting of the fingers 
or the making of dots on the blackboard in addition and 
subtraction should never be allowed to become a habit. 
For example, 4 should mean more than 3 and 1. It should 
mean just as clearly 2 and 2, 1 and 3, four I's, 5 less 1, 
and perhaps also, one and one third threes, etc. When 
the number 4 is known in this way, a child will hardly 
want to count it by I's if asked to add 2 and 2. 

On the assumption that number is '' measured quan- 
tity," G. B. Longan, formerly Assistant Superintendent 
of Kansas City, Missouri, devised a system of number 
work in which all the smaller numbers and many others 
up to one hundred are developed by a process of meas- 
uring. Units of measure, such as the quart, the yard, 
the nickel, the foot, the dime, the pound, etc., are used 
in the development of various numbers. There seems to 
be a fascination and interest about this system because 
it deals with actual units of business life. In the study 
and development of two, the quart, among other things, 
is used; with three, the yard is used; with five, the nickel; 
with ten, the dime, etc. This is a very complete system 
and one by which fractions and the various number 
phases may be represented and almost marvelous results 
attained. (See Longan's " First Lessons in Arithmetic") 

In the early stages of a child's study of numbers he 
should be asked to compare quantities, or use his judg- 
ment as to the length of lines, the width of the black- 
board, the height of the ceiling, the width and length of 
a book, etc. He may be asked to draw a line on the 
board one foot long, another twice as long, another half 
as long, etc. As this is being done, other members of 
the class may be called upon to correct or corroborate 



298 The Rural School 

his judgments, and in the end all this work should be 
tested by an accurate measure. 

In the acquisition of the number notion, some atten- 
tion should be given to the grouping of objects. At first 
it may be necessary to count in order to select certain 
groups of objects, but it should be the aim to get pupils 
to recognize the number in a group of objects as soon as 
possible. This is not particularly hard to do up to five, 
but a little experimenting will disclose that groups larger 
than five often require separation into smaller groups 
for ready recognition. But this affords good opportunity 
for drill on combinations. Groups of actual objects, 
objects in pictures, and groups on the numeral frame are 
all good material for such drill. 

2. To Give Skill in the Manipulation of Figures. — The 
second object in the teaching of numbers or arithmetic is 
to give skill in the use of figures. It is not sufficient to 
grasp a number idea, but one must learn to represent 
that number by symbols or figures and acquire dexterity 
in the use of large numbers beyond the mind's actual com- 
prehension. Thus far in the study of numbers, there 
should have been much concrete work in which numbers 
were represented by objects, but comparatively little in 
which numbers were represented abstractly by the use 
of figures. The child now needs to learn to read and 
write numbers, to add and subtract, multiply and divide 
numbers which are beyond the range of concrete repre- 
sentation. 

Reading and Writing Numbers. — It is not to be under- 
stood that no use of figures will be made in the early 
part of number work, but on the contrary, as soon as the 
child has the conception of a number, it may be repre- 
sented by its appropriate symbol. By this means, as 
soon as the children are able to write, much seat work 




Numbers 299 

can be given and thus the lessons taught in class can be 
strengthened. In the second or third year, when the time 
comes that they should learn the art of writing numbers, 
they should early learn by the use of the splints that, 
" Ten units of one order make one of the next higher." 
For this purpose prepare bundles of tens (by binding ten 
spHnts or toothpicks with a rubber band), and bundles 
of hundreds (ten bundles of tens). 
Eleven will require one bundle of 
tens and one separate splint, 
twenty-two will require two bun- 
dles of tens and two separate 
splints. By such concrete ex- 
amples pupils will soon get a 

clear conception of the method of representing numbers 
by figures. 

The difference between a place or order and a period 
should be noted; the fact that a period contains three 
places or orders; and that the names of these periods, 
thousands, millions, etc., are relatively the same as a 
person's family or surname, as Smith, Jones, or Brown; 
that each family always lives in the same relative position 
in respect to every other family; e. g. the thousands al- 
ways live in the next house to left of units, the hillions 
family in the fourth house, may all be made interesting 
features to a class of beginners in the art of reading and 
writing numbers. Continuing the figure, one may say 
that each family lives in a house of exactly the same size, 
each having just three rooms. The room on the right is 
always occupied by the units, the smallest members of 
the family; the next room is occupied by those next in 
size, the tens; and the third room by the largest mem- 
bers, the hundreds. There may be any number from 
none to nine in a room. Since there must always be three 



300 The Rural School 

rooms in each house, if there is no one Hving in one of the 
rooms, a sign is put up to say that it is empty. The sign 
is always the same, '' O," naught. The figures always 
show how many units, tens or hundreds of a family live 
in each room. 

The Roman notation is little used and should be taught 
incidentally as it is presented in the readers and else- 
where. Little formal work will be necessary or profitable. 

Formal Work in the Fundamentals. — As has been indi- 
cated, much work in addition, subtraction, and so forth 
will have been done before a presentation in a formal 
manner, but when it comes time to add numbers repre- 
sented by figures, such as 24 and 32, the numbers should 
be represented by means of splints, the 24 by two tens 
and four ones or units, the 32 by three bundles of tens 
and two units. The addition consists simply in uniting 
these two groups which will give five bundles of tens and 
six units. Whenever the separate units will make a 
bundle of tens they must be combined into such a group. 
By a similar process subtraction and multiplication may 
be illustrated. Suppose it is given to divide 33 by 2. The 
number 33 may be represented by three bundles of tens 
and three ones. Dividing by 2 means finding how many 
twos in 33 or separating 33 into two equal parts. Taking 
the second conception for illustration, the tens may be 
separated by putting one bundle in one place and an- 
other in another place; one ten will be left which will 
have to be broken into ones before it can be divided. 
Doing this and adding them to the other ones there are 
now thirteen ones; six of these may be placed with one 
ten and six with the other; this still leaves one unit which 
has not been divided; it will have to be broken and one 
half put with each group, thus making 163/2 in each place. 
The custom of saying that 33 divided by 2 gives 16 and 1 



Numbers 301 

remainder is a questionable practice and leaves the child 
mind in doubt as to the meaning of the " one over," or 
remainder. By some such process, concrete illustrations 
can be given for all the fundamental operations. This 
should be done so that the child may get clear concep- 
tions of these processes. 

Fractions. — Pupils should begin the use of fractions 
from almost the very first. If concrete illustrations are 
used, a child can grasp the idea of one half about as soon 
as he gets the notion of two. If as suggested before, a 
unit be taken which may be divided into other units, as 
the quart, yard, nickel, etc., he will have little trouble in 
getting the notion of one half, one third, one fifth, etc. 
This will give him the idea that a fraction may express 
a relation or ratio and that it is not necessarily a part of a 
unit. He will have no trouble in comprehending that 
one pint is one half of a quart, that one foot is one third 
of a yard, that one cent is one fifth of a nickel, that one 
inch is one twelfth of a foot, etc. 

The teacher can lead his pupils to a more general notion 
of fractions, if he will but make sure that the terms 
halves, fourths, sixths, etc., are understood to be the 
names of parts, and may be treated as so many apples, 
boys, pencils, etc. Two fifths plus one fifth need give no 
more trouble than 2 apples plus 1 apple. The above ex- 
ample may sometimes be written 2 fifths and 1 fifth. To 
illustrate the reduction of a 
fraction to other terms, the 
rectangle may be used. The 
accompanying rectangle di- 
vided into sixths may be 

used to illustrate that two 

sixths equal one third, that ^ 

four sixths equal two thirds. 



3 

1 1 1 1 1 1 
6 6 6 6 6 6 



302 The Rural School 

By dividing the rectangle into other parts the common 
denominators of other fractions may be illustrated. Again, 
it is quite easy to show that two cents are one fifth of a 
dime, that three inches are one fourth of a foot, etc. 
Begin the use of fractions early in concrete ways and in 
connection with other arithmetic work and never allow 
them to become a bugaboo. 

Drill. — To know how to add and subtract, to multiply 
and divide both simple and fractional numbers is not 
enough; there is need of accuracy and speed. These 
can be attained only by drill and rapid work: 7 and 4 
should mean 11 just as readily as two ones (11) mean 
eleven. Three times 7 should mean 21 without any hesi- 
tancy. The forty-five combinations of addition should 
be thoroughly learned and drilled upon in order that 
addition may be rapidly done and become more than a 
counting-by-one process. There should be much count- 
ing by 2's, 3's, 4's, etc., beginning first with 2, then with 1, 
then with 3, as the case may demand. For example, in 
counting by 2's begin 2, 4, 6, 8, etc., next, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, etc. 
In counting by 3's begin, 3, 6, 9, etc., next, 1, 4, 7, 10, etc., 
then 2, 5, 8, etc. This drill work is more or less abstract 
and should follow the work of development suggested on 
previous pages in this chapter. 

The combinations in multiplication should be pre- 
sented in various forms, other than those found in 
the usual textbook. For example, an oral drill on 
the multiplication table may be given in this manner: 
2 times 3 equals? 2 times 4 equals? 3 times 3 equals? 
2 times 5 equals? 2 times 6 equals? 3 times 4 equals? 
2 times 7 equals? 3 times 5 equals? 2 times 8 equals? 
4 times 4 equals? etc., the teacher keeping in mind the 
results of the multiphcation table, as 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 
etc., and giving the pupil the combinations which produce 



Numbers 303 

these results. This work should be rapid fire, questions 
and answers, with no time for formalities. 

Visual Forms. — The form in which the work is placed 
before the eye is often suggestive and helpful. Instead 
of writing the example 3 + 4, it is perhaps better to 

write it , ^, the '^ -f " indicating addition. Subtraction 

and multiphcation may be written thus: ^. These 

are more nearly the customary forms of business life. A 

convenient way of expressing division is thus: . 

4)436 
This becomes quite convenient in the division of decimals, 
for example: 

2.5 1500 



25)62.5 or /15.)225/00. 
15 
75 
75 



Dividing 225 by .15 we move the decimal point two 
places to the right and place the decimal point in the 
answer when we come to it in the process of division. If 
required to add fractions the following is a good form : 

The common denominator 60 is 
36-|- ^ found and placed below the line and 

4ll 3A the sum of the several numerators, 

16^ 24. or 139 is placed above this common 

^^3^ 4 5 denominator. This fraction is sim.- 

— ^-, „ -, „ „ . „ plified and added to the sum of the 

182 1 3 9 Q i 9 ^ 

6 6 -^6 0- whole number. Never reduce such 
examples to improper fractions. 



304 The Rural School 

Good forms and neat work on blackboard, slates and 
tablets is worth while. The following are some good forms 
for seat work. 



I. 3 

+ 4 

? 


? 

+ 4 

7 


3 

+ ? 
7 


? 

+ ? 

7 


2. 7 

— 4 
? 


7 

— 3 

? 


7 
— ? 

4 


7 

— ? 

3 


? 

— 4 

3 


? 

— 3 

4 


? 
— ? 

4 


? 

— ? 

3 


3. 4 

X 3 

? 


3 

X 4 

? 


3 

X ? 

12 


4 

X ? 

12 


? 

X 4 

12 


? 

X 3 
12 


? 

X ? 

12 


? 
X 2 

12 


4. 4 
?)12 


4 
?)8 


5 
?)10 


2 

?)4 


? 

2)6 


? 

3)6 


3 

?)9 


4 

3)? 



Though it may seem a waste of time and though it often 
grows monotonous to the teacher, nevertheless, vigor- 
ous and judicious drill on the fundamentals is the highest 
type of economy. It not only saves time directly in the 
work of performing these operations in later years, but 
it gives the pupil confidence in himself, and in after days. 



Numbers 305 

when he comes to solve problems, he will not lose so 
much time from making mistakes in the fmidamentals, 
and be led to think that he is working problems wrongly. 
Drill, drill, drill, but never let it grow monotonous or 
dull. Pupils enjoy lively, rapid drill in a variety of ways. 

3. To Develop Thinking and Reasoning. — The third 
object of arithmetic teaching is to develop clear thinking 
and reasoning. There is a good deal of loose, inaccurate 
thinking in our schools. The teacher asks a question and 
the pupil gives a word or two, merely hints at the answer, 
and it is passed as good. It is not good, for the pupil has 
only a hazy idea of the correct answer asked for. He 
should be required to clarify his thought by stating it 
definitely in words. The accurate expression of an indi- 
vidual's own thought must be preceded by a clear impres- 
sion of the idea. The teachers of the past generation re- 
quired their pupils to learn the rules and definitions 
" by heart," and ofttimes they received only " words, 
words, words." The pendulum has swung to the other 
extreme, and now the teacher gets little of either words or 
thought, in the pupil's reply. 

Mathematics is an exact science and, in a sense, one 
reply is right and all others wrong; one answer is correct 
and all others incorrect. In the arithmetic class the 
teacher has the best opportunity offered anjrwhere in 
the school for teaching accuracy and exactness, for re- 
quiring clear thinking through exact expression. 

To accomplish similar ends, there should be much anal- 
ysis in the arithmetic exercises. This process is simply 
thinking accurately the parts or conditions of the prob- 
lem and then giving the thought clear expression. Pupils 
can acquire no better habit than that of logical and ac- 
curate thinking and clear expression. This, analysis will 
give if well taught. 



306 The Rural School 

Below are given a number of forms for analysis of the 
fundamentals in arithmetic. Let the teacher not mistake 
the author's purpose in giving them. They are not to be 
learned and fitted to the problem; this could be done 
with little or no thinking. The thinking should precede 
the expression, not the expression the thinking. These 
are goals towards which the teacher should lead his 
pupils in their thinking and reasoning, and when they 
have thought the conditions clearly, in general, the ex- 
pression will take care of itself. 

A FORM FOR ADDITION 

Example: A boy paid 5c for a pencil, 10c for a tab- 
let, and 20c for a book; how many cents did he spend in 
all? Analysis: If he spent 5c for a pencil, 10c for a 
tablet, and 20c for a book, he would spend for all the 
sum of 5c, 10c, and 20c, or 35c. 

A FORM FOR SUBTRACTION 

Example: A boy had 12 marbles and lost 4 of them; 
how many had he left? Analysis: If a boy had 12 marbles 
and lost 4 of them, he would have left 12 marbles less 4 
marbles, or 8 marbles. 

A FORM FOR MULTIPLICATION 

Example: If one pencil costs 5c, what will 6 pencils 
cost? Analysis: If one pencil costs 5c, six pencils will 
cost 6 times 5c (not 6 times 5, 5 times 6 cents, or 6 pen- 
cils times 5c), which is 30c. 

FORMS FOR DIVISION 

(1) Example: If 6 hats cost $30, what will one hat 
cost? Analysis: One hat will cost one sixth of $30, or $5. 
(No use for the expression " as many as " in this form.) 



Numbers 307 

(2) Example: At $6 each how many hats can be 
bought for $36? Analysis: As many hats can be bought 
for $36 as $6 is contained times in $36, which is 6 times, 
or 6 hats. 

4. To Give Ideas of Certain Commercial Forms and 
Practices. — This gives rise to the teaching of percentage 
with a number of its applications, and denominate num- 
bers with problems illustrating many business usages. 
All this should be brought, as nearly as possible, within 
the range of the pupil's experience. No textbook can 
give sets of problems which will suit all the schools into 
which the book is likely to come. It remains for the 
teacher to make many problems for his pupils so that 
the school and the home will be brought close together 
and more or less united in the work of rearing the young. 
If the school be in the country, there should be many 
problems relating to the farm, — to agriculture, stock 
raising, home economics, etc. It should be the aim of 
the teacher to make this part of the arithmetic very 
practical. The following problems are offered as sug- 
gestions. 

John's father had a field of 40 acres of corn which 
produced 37 bushels per acre. It was worth 64 cents per 
bushel. How much did he make on this field, providing 
he spent 20 days plowing, 3 days harrowing, 24 days 
cultivating, 3 days for an extra man in planting, 3 cents 
per bushel for husking, and rent of the land was worth $5 
per acre? The price of team, man and corn should all 
be determined by prevailing prices of the neighborhood, 
indeed the whole example should be suited to some boy's 
or girl's home condition. 

This problem might be changed or enlarged in the fol- 
lowing manner: Would it pay better to sell the corn or 
feed it to hogs at the present market price, or would it 



308 The Rural School 

be more profitable to make silage of the whole crop and 
feed it to the cows? Would it pay better to churn the 
cream when butter is 25 cents a pound or sell it provid- 
ing butter fat is 28 cents a pound? 

Mary's mother has a flock of 100 hens. She feeds them 
a peck of oats and 5 pounds of bran per day. Twice per 
week she gives them ground bone or blood meal costing 
25c. In the last month she has spent 50c for medicine. 
They are averaging 3 dozen eggs per day; have they been 
paying for the last month? The problem may be ex- 
tended for the whole year, bringing in the varying condi- 
tions of the different seasons. 

A man had $7000 in cash which he deposited in the 
First National Bank. He bought a quarter section of 
land, for which he paid $15 per acre. He bought a team 
of mules, a wagon and harness. He bought posts, barbed 
wire and staples with which to fence the farm. He also 
bought fencing, posts and nails with which to fence a 
barn lot 10 by 12 rods. He bought lumber and built 
a barn, a house, sheds, chicken house, etc., etc., etc. He 
bought plows, mowing machine, rake, etc. He planted 
his crops and reaped his harvest, cut his hay and put it 
into barn and stack, etc. This can be continued indef- 
initely, so that a review class may find work here for 
the whole winter. 

The class should be required to compute the number 
of posts required for fencing the farm, the wire and the 
staples, and the cost of each. The amount and cost of 
lumber, nails, etc., for the barn should all be computed 
by the members of the class. The size could be agreed 
upon by the class, and the price of labor, lumber, etc., 
should be determined by the local markets. The number 
of tons of hay in barn and stack should be computed by 
rules found in the arithmetics and elsewhere. The cost 



Numbers 309 

of planting, plowing, harvesting, etc., and the profits 
from a field should be computed, using data from neigh- 
boring farms. Notes should be given and received and 
the interest reckoned. In fact, all the transactions likely 
to occur in the course of a farmer's business life may be 
brought into this problem. This plan of arithmetic 
teaching has been tried, and it proved very interesting to 
the class. 

Superintendent Jessie Field of Iowa has published a 
little book full of problems for the rural schools, but 
" ready-made " problems are- not to be compared to 
" homemade " problems which bring in actual condi- 
tions as they are in the pupil's home. 

There are probably other objects for the teaching of 
arithmetic but it does not come within the province of 
this book to treat them further. 



Chapter VI 

LEARNING TO WRITE 
TEACHING THE BEGINNERS 

Writing an Art. — Writing for the little people! What 
shall they do? When? How? These are the points 
worthy of consideration. Children often know some- 
thing of words and of number when they start to school, 
but seldom do they know anything about writing. Learn- 
ing to write is not the simple or the inconsequential thing 
that it is often thought to be. It approaches a fine art 
in nature and requires both mental effort and muscular 
skill. The muscles cannot execute well until there is both 
a clear and an exact mental image of the thing to be ex- 
ecuted. Even then the muscles cannot execute the 
mental picture until they have been brought under 
subjection to the mind by frequent and painstaking 
efforts. After the muscles can execute the will of the 
writer, the writing will improve as the mental image 
becomes more ideal. 

Eternal vigilance is the. price of good penmanship, and 
in this case, as in many another, " There is no excellence 
without great labor." When children enter school their 
muscles are entirely untrained in such exercises as are 
required in writing, and, for the reasons just stated, 
writing, if it is done in a painstaking manner, is in its first 
stages an exacting and a fatiguing exercise. Whenever 

310 



i 



Learning to Write 311 

a child has tried faithfully and done creditably well, his 
work should be encouraged and commended. If the 
teacher can say, '' This is a fine word," or, '' Why, this 
is almost as good as mine; now let me see if you can write 
this word just as nicely," he is quite sure to get an ear- 
nest effort at least. It is not then so discouraging to the 
child to be sho\\m his errors and their corrections. 

When and How Much. — Good authorities differ con- 
cerning the advisability of requiring little people of five 
or six 3^ears of age to write at all, but most teachers begin 
the work of teaching about as soon as the child enters 
school. A reasonable amount of such work is not too 
much for the child to attempt; but all agree that no 
long-continued efforts should be required in the initial 
stages of the work. The necessity for early writing is the 
greater in those schools where the teacher does not have 
a considerable amount and variety of seat work to keep 
the little pupils employed in helpful and pleasant occupa- 
tions. But, it is under' precisely these conditions that 
the child is apt to be asked to write too much. The 
teacher wishes to keep him busy, and it is an easy way to 
say, '' Write all the lesson," or, " Write this sentence ten 
times," etc. Pupils should be kept busy during their 
school hours, but a writing exercise should have a more 
important purpose than merely to keep pupils occupied. 

It is under these conditions, also, that the exercise is 
apt to be done carelessly and so do more harm than good. 
Only some unusual condition or circumstance should ever 
make a teacher willing to accept written work which is 
not done to the best of the pupil's ability. Such work 
is not only detrimental to the penmanship itself, but 
also allows the child to form bad habits in general. 

First Lessons. — The child's first writing ought to be 
almost entirely blackboard work, because the characters 



312 The Rural School 

may be made much larger and with easy, free, muscular, 
movements. It avoids the cramped position of the hand 
apt to be assumed in grasping a small, and sometimes a 
short, slate or lead pencil. His muscles should not be 
taxed with making small, fine characters, until he is able 
to make the forms fairly well, at least, in large charac- 
ters, with free movements. He should also write with- 
out lines and spaces, as he finds the forms themselves 
difficult enough to occupy his attention without the 
added effort of " keeping on the line " and confining 
himself to space limits. 

It is better, in the beginning, that the pupil should see 
the teacher write the word or exercise which he is to copy. 
This gives him the benefit of seeing how it is done. Even 
older people, those of mature minds, can often perform 
a task or an exercise more easily after having seen it done 
than they could have done without the illustration. 
Little folk need the example of " how to do " even more. 
The teacher, too, by this means, is better able to call 
attention to the point of beginning, the nature of strokes, 
particular turns, and any peculiar or difficult parts of a 
word or letter. 

While one of the points for which we strive in more 
advanced writing is speed, the main points in primary 
writing are form, and good habits of position and move- 
ments. In the first respect, on account of its slower 
movements and attention to details of form, the subject 
is somewhat related to drawing. 

MATERIALS 

Use of Copy. — It is scarcely wise or profitable to ask 
or allow a child, who is just learning to write, to repeat 
an exercise more than two or three times from a single 



Learning to Write 313 

model form, for the reason that he is apt to observe the 
copy less and less carefully as he gets farther and farther 
from it. This is not applicable to beginners only, for, 
though it should not be, it is often true that the more ad- 
vanced pupils' copybooks show poorer writing on the 
last line of a page than on the first line. On this account, 
it would be beneficial if, instead of only one model form 
on a page, all lower-grade copybooks had two, or even 
three. It is not a good plan to require beginners to copy 
words or sentences from the board while at their seats 
before they have learned to write quite well. It is im- 
possible to see the characters and to write at the same 
time. It is too difficult for them to keep the whole 
form in mind while writing the word, and, unless one 
can do so, continual halting is necessary while the eye 
travels back and forth from board to desk. 

Making Copies. — To save time the teacher may pre- 
pare many copy slips which he may distribute to the 
class to be copied on slates or paper. They have the ad- 
vantage of being movable and may always be placed just 
above the line which the pupil is writing. By this means 
he may cover his own cruder efforts and keep the model 
constantly before him. With impression paper, a num- 
ber of copies of the same specimens may be made, or a 
number of different specimens may be made and, by 
exchanging the copies, a set will last a class for some time. 
Another time saver is to have the little people first find 
certain words or build a sentence from the script word in 
their reading boxes, — see use of these boxes under 
Reading Seat Work, — and then copy these same words 
or sentences on slates or paper. If a person has access 
to a duplicating machine of some sort, sheets of sen- 
tences may be prepared which may be used as reading 
lessons and then preserved for writing purposes. 



314 The Rural School 

Do not teach or allow the pupils to print. It is a waste 
of time and serves no particularly good purpose, as there 
are but few times, either in school or out, when one has 
occasion to use it. Those who need it can learn it when 
the need for it occurs. Then, too, its use develops the 
finger movement. 

Writing Material. — As has been suggested already, 
the first writing materials should be crayon and black- 
board. These are followed by slate and pencil or paper 
and ink, preferably unruled paper at first. When either 
slate or lead pencils are used, care should be taken to see 
that they are of reasonable length so that they may be 
held properly. The use of an extremely short pencil 
causes a pinched, cramped position of the hand. When 
ink is used, the wells should have just enough ink in them 
so that pen points will not be filled. Pen wipers should 
be used after the first lesson, and blotters as soon as pos- 
sible. In some graded schools, the use of pen and ink is 
introduced in the first grade, but, in general, just as satis- 
factory results, if not more so, with fewer difficulties, are 
obtained by beginning the use of these materials some- 
what later. 

How to Handle Materials. — All danger of accidents to 
pens, or from overturned ink, or the use of such material 
at inappropriate times may be obviated by collecting' 
pens and ink at the close of the writing period. A light, 
shallow, wooden box serves nicely as a receptacle in which 
to collect the ink, and a pasteboard box two and a half 
inches in depth and any convenient length and width, 
according to number of pupils, serves for the pens. Rule 
the cover of the box into squares, three fourths of an inch 
to one inch in dimension, and make holes at the inter- 
sections of the lines by perforating with a sharpened lead 
pencil. Letter the rows, a, b, c, etc., and number the 



Learning to Write 315 

holes in a row, 1, 2, 3, etc., and tie the cover on the box 
securely with small, strong cord. The pens are collected 
by rows, inverted, and placed in these holes. As each 
pupil's pen is thus kno\vn by letter and by number, pens 
may be passed and collected quickly without confusion. 

DISCUSSION OF METHODS 

System. — It is not the intention in this chapter to 
discuss systems of writing further than to say that the 
general consensus of opinion is, that whatever system 
professional penmen, bookkeepers and business men 
may select for speed, the easiest to learn to write well and 
by far the easiest to read is the vertical system or, at most, 
a style that has only a slight slant. Some will argue that 
a child naturally changes his style as he advances in 
grade. This is no argument against the system, as he 
does that to some degree, regardless of the system by 
which he is taught. He is only individualizing his style. 

Position. — Teachers can err by insisting too strongly 
upon one certain position for every one, as well as by 
being careless about the whole matter. A slightly side 
position usually gives better desk support for the arm 
than a straight front position unless desks are quite 
wide. The arm should not be allowed to hang off the 
desk, as is apt to happen when one has neared the bottom 
of a page, and leave all the weight upon the hand, as this 
hampers free movement. Often pupils act as though 
they had but one hand, as far as writing is concerned, 
and they try to hold the paper in position by pressing 
down with the writing hand instead of using the other 
hand for that purpose. This also prevents good muscu- 
lar action. Having both hands on the desk is apt to 
insure corresponding elevation of the shoulders. 



316 The Rural School 

Usually the back of the pen hand should be turned 
upward, instead of sidewise, the ends of fourth and Httle 
fingers acting as a support, but the shape of the hand 
has some bearing upon the matter and an easy position 
for one is not always easy for another. The shape of the 
first finger is a very sure index as to whether or not the 
pen or pencil is being gripped too tightly. If the whole 
length of the finger presents a nicely rounded outward 
curve, then all is well, but if the middle joint is sharply 
bent and the lower half of the finger bends inward, the 
grip is too tense and the hand is strained. These httle 
signs are easily remembered and observed, by the pupils 
as well as by the teacher, and serve as a simple but 
effective guide. 

In general, the body should be erect, leaning slightly 
forward, but not bent sidewise, humped over the desk, 
or allowed to take any awkward, ungainly, or distorted 
position. The feet placed flat upon the floor will assist 
in assuming and maintaining this position. The head 
should be erect that the eyes may look squarely at 
the copy. 

Movement. — While form, as was said before, is the 
main feature in lower-grade writing, yet no pains should 
be spared to make muscular movements as free and as 
easy as possible. To this end a number of movement 
exercises are beneficial. A few good exercises are those 
shown on page 317: Lines of undotted i's and u's com- 
bined with an upward circle; n's or m's with the down- 
ward circle; the regular oval; the inverted oval; and the 
old style /. These should all be large enough to re- 
quire the arm movement. To secure uniformity and 
regularity of movement in these exercises, it is well to 
count for the writing, first slowly, then rapidly. For oval 
count one; for i and /, two each; for u and n, three each. 



Learning to Write 



317 




Analysis. — A number of years ago a very important 
factor in the subject of writing was the analysis of letters, 
that is, the naming of the principles which they con- 
tained. Now the pendulum has swung entirely to the 
other side and scarcely any reference is ever made to 
principles. No formal analysis will make a good pen- 
man, but some attention to the similarity of various let- 
ters will be of assistance in their formation, e. g.,u consists 
of two i's, minus the dots; wisu with a finishing line like 
V, while the first part of v is hke the first part of n; 6 is Z 
finished like v, and h is I finished like the last of n; g is 
a with a downward loop, while j is ^ with the downward 
loop; d is a with an upward extension, or, it is c, com- 
bined with the t without the cross; d also contains all 
the essential features of a, c, i, and t, except the dot and 
the cross; y is the first of n and the j minus the dot. 



318 The Rural School 

This sort of analysis, which might be continued much 
farther, cannot fail to be helpful in writing, and also 
causes close observation. An opportunity to cultivate 
this faculty can be profitably seized, wherever met. 

Dividing the Writing Period. — Each writing period 
should be divided into two or three parts, or, if time is 
very short, the different sorts of exercise may be taken 
at different and alternating periods. One part of the 
period should be given to movement exercises, another 
to drill on letter forms, and a third to individual writing. 
If all are drilling on one letter form, the more common 
errors are easily pointed out and corrected. The num- 
ber of well-written forms may be placed upon the board 
by the teacher and the pupils called upon to explain 
wherein their various forms are incorrect. The third 
division of the work consists of the actual writing of 
copies. This is individual work rather than class work. 
The pupil is expected to put into actual use what he has 
learned in the other divisions of the work, and he may 
progress as rapidly or as slowly as his skill may warrant. 
At all times one need not hesitate to impress upon the 
pupils' minds, that to write well is an accomplishment 
of which they may well be proud. 



Chapter VII 
DRAWING 

A Means of Expression. — Although the curriculum 
for the rural school is quite full, and there are many 
demands on the teacher's time, the subject of drawing 
has a valid claim for a place on the program. It is simply 
another mode of expression, and fortunate is he who can 
express himself in many ways. Few things give more 
pleasure or are of more value than the ability to express 
one's self by means of a sketch. To draw well, one must 
observe form, and to execute form, he must train the 
muscles to respond accurately just as they are taught to 
respond in performing any other work. 

Beginning Early. — When pupils have had no training 
in drawing till they are well advanced in the grades, they 
become self conscious and feel their limitations, and conse- 
quently dislike the subject. If drawing is begun in the 
first grade, it is done as a matter of course the same as 
reading, writing and numbers; and though the first ef- 
forts are crude, yet they compare favorably with the 
children's efforts in other lines of work. If they are led 
to make attempts and are not made to believe that draw- 
ing is difficult, they will like to express themselves in this 
way. In truth, a moment's reflection will recall the fact 
that few are the little people who do not try to draw long 
before they enter school. Unfortunately these early ef- 
forts do not always receive the encouragement from par- 

319 



320 The Rural School 

ents and teacher which they should; if, indeed, they are 
not wholly repressed. 

If, then, drawing is so desirable a subject, the question 
naturally arises, what shall be drawn and how? It is 
not the intention in this chapter to go very fully into the 
" what " or the " how," but to offer some suggestions 
showing the possibilities of the subject and to urge its 
claim for a place on the program. 

HOW TO BEGIN 

Materials. — The materials needed for the accomplish- 
ment of much and of good work in drawing are few and 
inexpensive. Twenty-five sheets of drawing paper, white 
or manila colored as preferred, a good medium or a soft 
drawing pencil, and a box of good colored drawing cray- 
ons, eight colors including the six standards and brown 
and black are all the actual essentials. A good soft eraser 
is convenient but should be used sparingly, and in the 
lower grades only by the teacher. Erasing becomes a 
habit. 

The colored crayons are valuable in the design work, 
and if handled with care are most effective in the draw- 
ing of scenes. Children delight in color, and drawings 
done in color appeal to them when black and white would 
fail to do so. The teacher should have knowledge of and 
taste in color if good results are to be obtained. Children 
should be taught to make harmonious combinations and 
to use color sparingly so that the results may be delicate 
rather than gaudy. 

Point of Attack. — Teachers of drawing differ in both 
the point of attack and the method of attacking the sub- 
ject; though, eventually, they cover about the same 
ground. Some emphasize line drawing, some mass draw- 



Drawing 321 

ing. In general, according to the best authorities mass 
drawing seems preferable; because an object appears to 
be a solid and because the desired form is, to a great ex- 
tent, a matter of development. Line drawing demands 
more perfect muscular control and greater perfection of 
form at the very first. In mass work, general form is first 
sought and then by analysis and comparison the imper- 
fections are found and corrected. 

But, whether lines or masses are used, sharply defined, 
hard lines as a rule are to be avoided and broad gray lines 
and smooth gray shading are to be sought. To secure 
this effect a slightly rough surface paper is preferable to a 
smooth or glazed paper. Regular drawing paper has such 
a surface. Again, some supervisors begin work with the 
type forms, circle, square, triangle, sphere, etc., while 
others prefer to sketch objects based upon these forms. 

Use of Type Forms. — The type forms are perfect 
forms and are hard to reproduce and, if the type form is 
the object to be attained, perfection must be striven for. 
Also, the type form is more or less an abstraction, while 
objects based on these are more concrete and more in 
harmony with the child's life experiences; so they seem 
a more logical point of beginning. An apple or a turnip 
is much more easily reproduced than a ball; a carrot 
or a long radish, more easily than a cone; a log or a 
tree, more easily than a cylinder, — because the sides 
do not need to balance exactly. Some articles like vases 
whose opposite sides are duplicates are harder to draw 
because of this very fact. Consequently the unbalanced 
objects and those which vary from the type are most 
easily drawn and do not suffer greatly on account of 
deviation. 

But regardless of whether the drawing shall be that of 
the type forms or of objects based upon them, the oppor- 



322 The Rural School 

tunity should not be lost for actually studying, analyzing 
and comparing the real type forms and developing their 
characteristics and the terms applying to them. A good 
text defining and setting forth the characteristics of the 
sphere, the cube, etc., should be in the hands of the 
teacher. With this as a guide the teacher should en- 
deavor to lead the pupils to get clear ideas of these type 
forms and their relation to each other. 

Helping by Criticising. — One need not hesitate to 
attempt the more difficult forms, if he can arouse interest 
and will criticise attempts carefully and without censure. 
Find some good point, if possible, then show where and 
how another point may be improved greatly, by a very 
slight change or addition. Then get the child to criticise 
his own work. He cannot improve it, except by chance, 
unless he can detect and describe the defects. Show to 
the whole school something that has been well done. A 
drawing does not have to be finished minutely in order 
to possess excellence. If the sketch shows life and char- 
acter, it is good even though the one executing it has not 
secured exactly the form and finish desired. Both of 
these features may be noted in the criticism. Much of 
the first work might well consist of sketch work chiefly, 
striving for general effect, leaving perfection and minute- 
ness of detail till a later period of the work. 

PERSPECTIVE 

Frequently children want to draw an object as it is, 
not as it appears. For instance, in making a box or a 
house all sides instead of the possible ones are shown. 
The number and faces of an object to be drawn depend 
wholly upon its position with respect to the observer. 
The following drawing illustrates this well. 



F/G. B. 






\ 


\ 


:^ 



Drawing 

FIG. A. 



323 



FI6.C. 



N FIG.Bl 



\FI6.Jt. F/G.cy 



F/G.D. 



-::-.:: -J'/G.D. 



VANISHING 
POINT ^,G^^ 



ercF 


/ 


/ 


/ 






/ 


'' 




FIG.E. 



FIG.E'^-'\'. 

'^HORIZON 



fIG.H. 



LINE 



\f/g:h. 



K N 



AN ILLUSTRATION OF PERSPECTIVE 



All figures A — H' represent the same object, an almost 
cubical block, in fifteen positions which it might easily 
occupy in respect to a stationary observer whose eye 
is at some point on the line 1-2, in front of Fig. G and 
equally distant between Figures A and G. 

Fig. A is directly in front of and somewhat above the 
observer's eye. 

Fig. G is equally distant in front of and as far below 
the eye as Fig. A is above it. 

Fig. C and Fig. B are equally distant with A above the 
eye but C is as far to the right as B is to the left. 



324 The Rural School 

Figures F and H are as far below the eye as Fig. G or 
as far below as A is above and they occupy the same 
relative positions below the eye as B and C, respectively, 
occupy above it. 

Figures B, C, F and H each present three sides to the 
observer and are equally distant from Vanishing Point. 

Figures D and E are equally distant from the Vanishing 
Point on the left and the right, respectively, both are in 
front of eye and they extend equally above and below the 
horizon line which cuts their front faces. Therefore 
they are on a level with the eye and neither their tops nor 
their bottoms are seen and they present but two faces. 

If the figure were directly in front of the eye as well as 
on the same level, a single face would be seen. 

Stating relations and positions in another way: Figures 
C, E and H are all the same distance to the observer's 
right of the Vanishing Point. C is above eye, E on a 
level with it and H below it. 

Figures B, D and F occupy corresponding positions, 
respectively, on the left of the observer. 

Figures B, A and C are all equally distant above the 
eye and to the left, directly in front of it, and to the right 
of it, respectively. 

Figures F, G and H occupy corresponding positions, 
respectively, below the eye. 

Figures A' to H' are the same figures, respectively, at 
a considerably greater distance from the observer, that 
is, much nearer the horizon line and the Vanishing Point; 
therefore they have seemingly decreased in size, corre- 
spondingly. The fact that the vanishing lines pass 
through the same corresponding points indicates that the 
loss of size is due to greater distance and not to any 
actual change, for, all parallel lines of similar figures be- 
tween any two vanishing lines are equal. 



Drawing 325 

SCENE DRAWING 

Some Principles. — Little scenes are good drawing 
exercises; for, even though the child does not reproduce 
the copy exactly, he still has a " picture " and is pleased 
with it. Scenes involve and easily illustrate the laws of 
perspective drawing. Some of the important ones of 
these are: All Hnes that are vertical in the object must 
be made so in the drawing. Illustrate the principle by 
making some rough drawings, a fence, a tree, a house; by 
showing that the fence post that is shown by an oblique 
line is a leaning post, so, unless that is what one wishes 
to represent, he must not draw it in this way. Receding 
parallel lines converge and, if extended far enough, will 
finally meet at a point called the vanishing point. Conse- 
quently, objects at a distance are drawn much smaller 
than other objects of the same size in the foreground. 
Even a little child may comprehend this law if his atten- 
tion is called to the fact that, if a man is near him, he 
is seen his full size; but, if the man is far down the level 
road, he is not seen larger than a boy, though he has not 
changed in size. A few simple lines will illustrate this 
law and the one for vertical lines also. A road, a line of 
trees, a fence, or a row of telegraph poles, furnish material 
for the lesson. 

The same scenes may be made in pencil and in colors. 
A picture may be made in different tones of one color or 
of black or in different colors. Some initial practice 
should be given to secure and appreciate the color tones 
or color scale. 

The scene shown in the accompanying illustration might 
be colored as follows: — a pale yellow, wintry sun, dark 
evergreen shrubbery in distance, or it might be snow 
covered, snowy foreground with slight yellow cast, gray- 



1 



326 



The Rural School 




A SCENE IN THREE TONES 



ish ice on pond, yellowish gray or pale blue sky. Almost 
any scene may be worked out in tones of any desired one 
color. 

Suggestive Drawings for the Different Months 

September: Grasses, goldenrod, sunflower, corn stalks, 
asters, trees, cat-tails, hunting scene. 

October: Autumn leaves, such as oak, elm, sumac, 
maple; thistle; nuts; fruits and vegetables; Hallowe'en 
ideas, such as. Jack o' lanterns, brownies, black cats, 
witches; Columbus pictures; Autumn scenes. 

November: Fruits and vegetables, ears of corn, geese, 
turkeys, Indian and Pilgrim objects or scenes. 



I 



Drawing 327 

December: Trees in winter aspect; cut snow crystals; 
draw snow man; sleds; children rolling snowball; coast- 
ing scenes; Christmas ideas, such as, trees, toys, stock- 
ings, Santa Claus, fireplace, reindeer, camels, holly bells, 
etc. 

January: Snow scenes and objects as in December; 
Eskimo huts; dog teams; seal; reindeer; an Arctic 
scene. 

February: Make and decorate valentines; draw ob- 
jects suggestive of Colonial times, of Washington and 
Lincoln and of any patriotic idea. 

March: Birds, branches and buds, and earliest spring 
plant forms, tulips, iris, etc; Dutch windmill, kites, etc., 
suggesting winds. 

April: Easter suggestions: rabbits, chickens, eggs, 
lilies; leaf and flower forms as they appear in nature; 
scenes suggesting rains and spring occupations. 

May: Spring scenes, flowers, etc., similar to April; 
butterflies, birds' nests, etc.; boys with fishing poles, 
picnic parties, etc. ; May basket decorations. 

Illustrating Stories. — Children sometimes like to il- 
lustrate stories told to them, or a paragraph from a 
reading lesson. The following story is given as an 
example : 

Willie Goes Fishing 

One day Willie's mother told him that, since he had 
worked so well all the week, he might go fishing. She put 
up a basket of lunch, for she knew he would get hungry. 
Willie took his pole and line and a can of bait, gave 
the basket of lunch to Skip, his dog, to carry and set out 
for his favorite fishing hole. His mother watched him 
till he had crossed a little stream on a foot log, climbed 
up a steep hill, and disappeared on the other side, then 



328 



The Rural School 




A child's drawing for the fishing story, nos. 1-2 








A child's drawing FOR THE FISHING STORY. NOS. 3-4 



she went back to her work, hoping that Willie would have 
a good time and that nothing would happen to him. 

After a while WilHe saw two large birds flying above 
a tall pine tree and he sat down to watch them for a few 
minutes, but the next thing he knew he awoke to find 
himself lying upon the ground with his bait can empty 
beside him and Skip eating the last bite of the lunch. As 
it was growing late, he laughed at the joke he had played 



Drawing 329 

on himself and said to his dog, " Well, you might have 
left me the crumbs, at least. I should have done that for 
you. I think I do not care to go fishing, anyway, so let 
us go home." 

PAPER- CUTTING AND DESIGN 

An occupation closely related to drawing is that of 
freehand paper-cutting. This work is one that gives the 
pupils pleasure as well as excellent practice in seeing form 
with the mind's eye and then executing that form by 
means of the scissors without the aid of lines. The phys- 
ical eye must follow the mental outline and the muscles 
must be taught to work in harmony with both. Again, 
the equipment is simple, nothing but scissors and plain 
paper of any kind is absolutely essential. The scissors 
present the greater difficulty; for it is not always conve- 
nient to have these brought from home, but good school 
scissors with the round points may be had for fifteen 
cents or less. Fifty cents or a dollar spent for scissors 
would pay a high rate of interest. 

Applications. — Paper-cutting may be applied in the 
illustration of reading lessons or stories such as, " The 
Three Bears," "Ulysses and the Winds," "Chicken 
Little," etc.; in illustrating events of particular interest 
as. The Circus, the study of the Pilgrims, the depar- 
ture or return of the birds; in representing fruits, vege- 
tables, autumn leaves, etc., — by using colored papers 
these are made more realistic, — and common household 
articles, such as bowls, cups, vases, hats, boots, hatchets, 
and so forth. 

Snow crystals, cut from paper, as well as flower and 
bird forms may be used as decorations for home-made 
valentines, Christmas or Easter cards, book covers; and 
the crystals whole or divided into their units as decora- 



MHMl 




ILLUSTRATIONS CUT FROM PAPER 



[330] 






:v 




-^1^^^' 




SOME PAPER-CUTTINGS MADE BY CHILDREN 



[331] 



332 



The Rural School 




APPLICATIONS OF CUT-WORK DESIGNS 



tions for cardboard construction workboxes, letter cases, 
and so forth. 

Larger cut designs may be converted into posters ap- 
propriate to the various hohdays, such as Hallowe'en, 
Thanksgiving, Arbor Day, etc. 

The accompanying illustrations are suggestions both for 
paper-cutting and the regular drawing work as mentioned 
in various places in this article. A number of these are 
actual cuttings made by the pupils in a rural school. 

Conventional Designs. — While speaking of paper- 
cutting, mention may be made of forms cut from folded 
paper to produce a repetition of units about a center or 
in rows. Take a square, fold on both diameters and, 
without opening, fold on a diagonal from the inner 
folded point of square to opposite outer corner, and cut 
in any form desired, merely leaving connecting points 
between the units. Cut on curved lines. No lines are 
used in the actual work. This produces four units about 
a center. 



Drawing 



333 





CUTTING A DESIGN 



Long strips folded together into squares and then 
folded again on the vertical diameter or on a diagonal 
will give the units in rows, if a connecting portion is left 
uncut at the sides. This form of cutting develops the 
inventive faculty. In the actual business world such 
designs are employed in the figures of carpets, wall paper, 
oii cloth, woven goods, and for many such purposes. In 
the schoolroom applications of them may be made by 
using them for forming designs for book covers, port- 
folios, pillow tops, etc. To see that they have use gives 
dignity to an occupation which otherwise some might 
look upon as mere child's play. Mention of these uses 
should be made even though no application of them is 
attempted. 

Design work calls for exact repetition and for conven- 
tional forms of either geometrical or natural objects as 
illustrated in the borders Nos. 1 to 6 on page 335. Little 
people may be allowed to make designs by laying card- 
board tablets - - circles, squares, oblongs, diamonds, 
etc., — upon sheets of paper and then tracing around 
them. They may then be shaded or colored, if desired. 
Work requiring accurate measurements is not well suited 



334 



The Rural School 



K-^^i^^i^^ 



^^9 



»iS^ 




SOME FINISHED DESIGNS 



to little children, but aside from this, they may attempt 
almost anything the older ones do. It is all the more 
necessary in rural schools to choose work that can be 
done by the pupils all together, because the time which 
may be devoted to such work does not permit of much 
division. Some of the older ones may be given exer- 
cises in simple cardboard construction in which the 
patterns are drawn to given dimensions. The lower 
grades may do construction work, making small arti- 
cles like boxes, chairs, tables, carts, cupboards, wall 
pockets, etc., by folding papers into small squares, fold- 
ing and pasting according to the teacher's directions, 
using the creases made by the folding as guide lines. 
Pencils and measures are both unnecessary. This work 
is easy and a number of books containing the necessary 
directions are to be obtained at a cost of anywhere 
from twenty-five cents to one dollar. 




SOME SUGGESTED DESIGNS FOR BORDERS 
[335] 



336 The Rural School 

A Final Word. — Finally since this chapter is merely 
meant to be suggestive and in no way an exhaustive treat- 
ment of the subject, it will have accomplished its end, 
if it has created interest in the subject, and shown that 
it has a place in a complete educational scheme; that it 
has its utilities as well as its aesthetic side; that it may 
serve to add interest to other school subjects; that its 
value as a mental stimulus is of no small weight, demand- 
ing, as it does, close observation, keen analysis, careful 
synthesis, and constructive imagination; that it is so 
varied that it should never cease to interest; that it may 
be adapted to the ability of the most unskilled person or 
to that of him who has unusual artistic ability; and last 
and most important, that this work is not beyond the 
ability or power of the teacher who is willing to make the 
same effort she makes in other lines of work and who will 
equip herself with some one or more of the excellent 
series of drawing textbooks which are in the market. 



1 



Chapter Vm 

MUSIC 
IMPORTANCE 

At the present time when so many subjects are clamor- 
ing for attention in our school program it is well to bear 
in mind that the school should not merely enable the 
pupils to earn a livelihood but it should also prepare 
them to get the most from life after a livelihood has been 
attained. Good or bad citizenship is very largely de- 
termined by the manner in which the members of a com- 
munity occupy the hours when they are not at work. 

If we take into account the fact that in the rural 
schools the boys and girls should be taught not only 
reading, writing and kindred subjects but also those 
things which will form their diversions in the years to 
come, the importance of music in the school will be better 
appreciated. 

In the vast majority of schools, teachers are content 
with only a limited amount of song singing or with no 
music at all. Class work in music is rarely attempted. 
This is often due to a lack of knowledge on the part of 
the teacher as well as to a want of confidence in the re- 
sults that may be obtained. Practical experience has 
proven that a daily music period is perfectly possible for 
every school. This ma^^ be made productive of very 
definite results and at the same time afford an agreeable 
relaxation for the pupils and teacher. 

337 



338 The Rural School 

EQUIPMENT 

The Textbook. — The question of a textbook will be 
determined by conditions and the teacher's choice. A 
one-book course in which there is much work on the 
simple problems is best suited to rural school conditions. 
There should be an introduction of the bass clef and a 
glossary of the ordinary musical terms. It goes without 
saying that copies of the textbook should be in the hands 
of the pupils if possible. 

Use of Blackboard. — A resourceful teacher can make 
good use of the blackboard. If there is room a painted 
staff enables the teacher to present many simple melo- 
dies. On such a staff the spacing between the lines should 
be not less than an inch and a quarter apart. If the 
blackboard space is limited, a staff liner may be used. 
This is a device which holds five pieces of crayon, so that 
a staff can be drawn with one movement of the hand, or, 
by holding a piece of crayon between the first and second 
and another between the second and third fingers a staff 
may be drawn with three instead of five strokes. Do not 
make notes by filling in '' o.'' Take a third piece of 
crayon and rub this on the board until the side is worn 
flat. A downward stroke of this flat surface will make a 
square note head. 

Use of the Pitch Pipe. — If no instrument is in the 
schoolroom, the teacher should purchase a pitch pipe. 
The most serviceable is one giving all the tones of the 
scale, commonly known as a chromatic pitch pipe. If a 
" C " pipe is used, the beginning tones of the common 
keys may be found as shown in the table on the follow- 
ing page. 

The Non-Singing Teacher. — For the teacher who does 
not sing it is encouraging to remember that listening is 



Music 



339 



TABLE SHOWING HOW TO FIND BEGINNING TONES OF OTHER KEYS 

BY MEANS OF " C " PIPE 



KEY OF 


IN SCALE OF 
C SING 


IN NEW KEY CALL IT 


G — t 


So] 


Doo 


B — U 


Re 


Doo 


A — tU 


La 


Doo 


E — iW 


Mi 


Doo 


KEY OF 


SOUND C AND 
CALL IT 




F — b 


Sol 


Sing to Doo in 
new key 


Bb— bb 


Re 


Eb— bbb 


La 




Ab— bbbb 


Mi 





one of the most important and difficult points to be mas- 
tered by the teacher. A teacher's abihty to sing well 
often retards the children. She helps so much that the 
children cannot learn. The non-singing teacher should 
know the correct sounds when they are given. Rhythm 
is more difficult to teach than tone and that can be mas- 
tered even by one who is tone deaf. In the vast majority 
of cases lack of ability on the part of a teacher often 
means merely lack of effort and persistence. In case a 
teacher positively cannot sing the simplest exercises, she 
can find a boy or girl who has a keen recognition of the 
different pitches and appoint him as critic or referee. 
Often this honor may be passed around. Not infre- 
quently, the class as a whole may be depended upon to 
note the errors that may occur. This is always true when 
the previous work has been thoroughly mastered. A 
teacher whose limitations are merely vocal should not 
allow this to prevent the boys and girls under her care 
from enjoying the privilege of music study, however 



340 The Rural School 

elementary this may be. A large number of rural schools 
possess organs and these are of even more service than a 
piano in the ordinary school. In deahng with monotones, 
the sustained tone from a particular key on the organ 
aids wonderfully in bringing the children's voices to the 
same pitch. 

TEACHING IN GROUPS 

In the ordinary one-room school the pupils very natu- 
rally divide into three groups, each of which can follow a 
distinct line of work in music: Group One, a group in 
song singing. This will ordinarily include the first three 
grades. Group Two, a group in note reading, is composed 
of grades four, five and six. Group Three, a group 
including the remaining grades, takes up the theory 
of music. With this arrangement, each group may de- 
rive benefit from hearing the recitation of the other groups. 

The following plan is merely suggestive and should be 
shaped by the teacher to meet conditions. Set aside the 
first fifteen minutes after the noon recess for the music 
period. This will be found more satisfactory than at- 
tempting to combine instruction with the devotional ex- 
ercise in the morning. A special seating is usually de- 
sirable. A good plan is to have Group One in the front 
seats. Group Two back of them and Group Three in the 
rear. If the pupils in the third group do not sing well it 
may be wiser to seat the groups in rows from the front 
to the back of the room. The recitation period of Group 
One may be Monday and Wednesday; Group Two, Tues- 
day and Thursday, and Friday may be wholly given to 
Group Three. Written work and study may occupy this 
last group for their second recitation on one of the days 
when group one or two is singing. 



Music 341 

Rote Singing. — Group One should include the pupils 
of lower grades, and by means of songs and rhythm games 
the foundation should be laid for the note reading to be 
done in Group Two. Some of the beginners, if not all, will 
require individual attention. In dealing with the so-called 
monotones, first learn if they can observe a difference in 
pitch of various tones. Next let them sing in unison 
single tones and simple melodies. If a child after repeated 
efforts will not take the pitch given, use his starting tone 
as a beginning and call it " doo." The principal difficulty 
with children who can recognize pitch but do not imitate 
different pitches readily is due to the fact that they have 
not learned to properly use the so-called head voice. 
Light quality of tone and the sound of '^ oo '^ are condu- 
cive to this sort of production. It is often easier for such 
children to sing an upper tone and then sing down the 
scale. '' E " in the fourth space of the soprano clef is a 
safe starting tone. 

In the selection of song material the teacher should see 
to it that the words are within the comprehension of the 
children. It is not necessary, however, that the music 
be extremely simple. The teacher should search through 
all available songs and should include songs of nature, 
songs that illustrate the every-day affairs of life, those 
that deal with special vocations as well as those suitable 
for all of the national holidays. All publishers of music 
and music books for schools issue sheet music, called 
" supplementary music for schools," at a very low cost. 
Before presenting a song the teacher should carefully 
study the meaning of the words; he should note the em- 
phatic wprds and pauses and should see in imagination 
the things which the song suggests. Go over the melody 
very carefully in preparation. Any error in the first pre- 
sentation is hard to correct. In teaching a song by rote, 



342 The Rural School 

that is, by imitation, sing the whole song through; then 
sing the first phrase and let the children sing after you; 
similarly the second phrase, etc. Children will learn by 
imitation many melodies that they might not be able to 
read after several years' training. 

Marching songs, songs which have a strong accent and 
rhythm and games should be used for the development 
of the feeling of rhythm. Clapping in time with the ac- 
cent exercises is valuable in this connection. After the 
children have learned a number of songs, select some of 
the simpler ones and teach the syllable names as an addi- 
tional verse. Do this with eight or ten songs; also use 
scale songs of fifteen words or syllables sung to the as- 
cending and descending melody of the scale, e. g., " See 
the soldiers marching gaily keeping step with fife and 
drum." 

Good rote songs will be found in any of the following 
books : 

" Songs of the Child World " by Jessie L. Gaynor. 
Books 1 and 2. 

" Song Development for Little Children " by Ripley 
and Heartz. 

" Small Songs for Small Singers " by Neidlinger. 

" The Song Primer " by Alys Bentley. 

" Children's Old and New Singing Games " by Marie 
Hofer. 

" Popular Folk Dances " by Marie Hofer. 

" Art Song Cycles " by Miessner. 

Sight Singing. — Group Two should utilize the knowl- 
edge gained in Group One. If music is being introduced 
for the first time some of the work, including the rhythm 
drill, that is, exercises to develop the feeling for the ac- 
cent in music, and memorizing of syllables will have to 
be done before note reading is attempted. All the exer- 



Music 343 

cises and songs used for sight reading should be extremely 
simple. In no other phase of the work is the adage, " not 
how much but how well," more applicable. The children 
in this group should learn the recognition of the different 
signatures but simply as a means of knowing where 1, 
that is the " doo " of the scale is located. To explain the 
whys of scale construction to this group is a waste of 
valuable time. A very simple rule which any child can 
follow is to count up one line or space from the last sharp 
and down two lines and a space or two spaces and a line 
from the last flat and this will locate 8 or 1 oi the scale. 
Call attention to the fact that the last, that is the right- 
hand sharp is on '' Ti " and the right-hand flat is on 
" Faw." In this group spend practically all the time in 
sight reading. When an error occurs, ask the class to 
sing the scale tones or an easy skip which will make the 
matter easier. Fix in the minds of the children the fact 
that the important tones are 1, 3, 5, and 8 and let them 
think of 4 as tending toward 3, 7 toward 8, 2 toward 1, 
etc. — the numbers referring of course to the syllables 
of the scale. When an error reveals a weakness on the 
part of the class in singing a particular interval or in 
imderstanding a time problem, drill then and there on 
this point until it is mastered. 

The foremost aim in this phase of the work is the de- 
velopment of power on the part of the children. This 
requires real judgment on the part of the teacher. While 
an exercise should not be carelessly read, it is not neces- 
sary to go over every exercise until each child can do it 
" letter-perfect." The reason for this is that after a 
certain number of repetitions the singing of the tones 
as they occur in the particular exercise becomes mere 
memory work. Drill to correct errors but keep as your 
goal the reading of similar exercises — the development 



344 The Rural School 

of power. Do not give the children more than one thing 
at a time to master. If an exercise brings a problem that 
is new, either in time or tune, prepare for this by imita- 
tion. Present all things for the first time by imitation. 
" Sing it. Name it. Represent it," is good pedagogy in 
the teaching of music. Do not confuse the children by 
explaining things that they cannot do. The aim of all 
the work in Group Two is the independent note reading 
of simple exercises. Reserve the '' whys and where- 
fores " for Group Three. Spend your time on the things 
which the children will meet most commonly. If by the 
time they have finished the work in this group they can 
read the music in the church hymnal, the teacher has 
done all that can be expected and has prepared them for 
an appreciation of the next group's work. 

In teaching time or '^ rhythm," as it is called, make 
sure that the children recognize the different notes that 
go to make up a beat or '' pulse.'' Then see to it that 
they make every pulse clear and distinct. In singing a 
half note in quarter measure teach them to think of it 
as two quarter notes tied (Doo-oo) and '' pulse " or em- 
phasize each one, by repeating the vowel with emphasis 
for the second one. Later when they sing two tones to a 
beat, as two eighths to a pulse in quarter measure, the 
regular accent of the beats will be best felt by singing the 
second tone much lighter. In the " catch note," as 
represented by the dotted quarter and the eighth, pulse 
strongly, that is sing with stress by repeating the vowel, 
the beat that occurs on the dot (e. g., Doo-oo-Doo). 

In all phases of sight reading it is important — so im- 
portant that it cannot be overemphasized — that the 
children should be taught to recite individually as in any 
other subject. This will require tact but is a sure way 
to obtain definite results. Preparations may be made 



Music 345 

for this by way of individual singing in Group One and 
by dividing the class into threes and twos in the sight 
reading work. Competition always engenders interest 
and encourages effort. Appoint two captains. Let them 
'' choose sides " and '' spell down '' in music reading. Let 
each side read as a whole; then assign very simple exer- 
cises for the captains to read and then the individual 
members in turn, alternating one side and then the other. 
If the opposing side detects the error, and the next singer 
does the exercise correctly let them choose from those 
who have been seated through failure if it is desired to 
prolong the contest. This plan has often been the means 
of inducing strenuous effort on the part of otherwise 
timid or stubborn pupils. Occasionally some additional 
members may be chosen from Group Three, if they are 
possessed of about the same degree of ability. This may 
form the basis of a more elaborate contest which will 
afford a very entertaining evening for the parents, from 
whom judges may be selected. This has the important 
advantage of demonstrating a practical value in what 
some consider a subject that is cultural only. 

In the use of syllables, better tone quality will be ob- 
tained if the broader vowel sounds are employed as 
" Doo,'' '' Sool," '' Faw," " Law." The Miessner Music- 
Motif Cards provide a way by which the pupils could 
learn to read music with rapidity and intelligence. 

Theory Study. — In Group Three the time should be 
largely devoted to the so-called " theory." If the pupils 
can sing, however, their recitation period on Friday can 
well be devoted to part singing and more advanced sight 
reading. The other day when they have music at the 
same time as one of the other groups they may do written 
work, or work in cooperation with Group Two by writing 
certain definitions, scales, etc., that occur during the les- 



346 The Rural School 

son. The ground covered in these grades will include the 
following entirely or in part: 

An understanding of all kinds of measure; the different 
scales, major and minor; the "intermediate'' tones — 
those between the regular scale tones; the commonly 
occurring musical terms employed to mark expression; 
familiarity with the bass or F clef. Advanced students 
in this group may be assigned the task of writing exer- 
cises for Group Two to read and, when possible, the recog- 
nition of intervals sung incorrectly may be required. 

Group Three will perhaps include a wider variety of 
pupils than any other. Some who are entirely unable to 
do the sight reading may be advanced into this group 
from Group Two. This should be done only after this 
inability is clearly established. Such pupils who have 
come up through Group Two may be enabled by the 
additional knowledge to work ahead of the class in the 
matter of sight reading. In the upper grades the rudi- 
ments of music should be thoroughly studied and their 
application, whenever possible, observed in the work of 
the lower grades. Pupils going from rural schools with 
this preparation are well qualified to enter the County 
High School, where they will readily acquire ability in 
advanced sight reading as a result of their practice in 
Groups One and Two in note singing and sight singing 
and their theory study in Group Three. 

If music is just being introduced, deal with Group One 
as suggested above; include in Group Three all above 
the third grade who cannot sing; the rest will constitute 
Group Two. Before starting this last group on sight 
reading, it will be necessary to do some of the preparatory 
singing — which should have been done already had 
Group One been in existence — also the memorizing of 
the syllables to several songs and singing of scale songs. 



Music 347 

Tone Quality and Breathing Exercises. — In all the 

work in music the matter of tone quality should be 
thought of. At the beginning of the music period two 
minutes, taken for breathing and tone drill, will be time 
well spent. Teach the children to respond with soldier- 
like promptness: 1, " Stand '' (heels together, hands at 
the sides, head erect, shoulders back and chin in) ; '2, *' Po- 
sition " (hands on the hips, fingers to the front on the 
lower ribs) ; 3, " Inhale " (the children filling the lungs 
till the ribs press out against the fingers) ; after a brief 
holding, 4, " Exhale slowly," as teacher counts 1, 2, 3, 4; 
all the breath to be out of the body and the ribs well in on 
the last count. The length of time covered by the hold 
and the counting will of course be prolonged gradually. 
This may be used to advantage as an all school drill at 
any time in the day. 

APPRECIATION OF MUSIC 

A very important phase of music teaching lies in the 
development of intelhgent listeners. The phonograph is 
now being employed as an educational instrument. It is 
a part of the equipment in nearly all city schools and the 
possibihties for culture and instruction which it affords 
has led to the purchase of machines by smaller schools. 
When wisely used and the records selected with discretion, 
such machines are of inestimable value. The children 
become famihar with many compositions which they 
would otherwise never hear; a deeper love for the various 
kinds of good music is instilled and discriminating atten- 
tion on the part of the children is developed. Such ma- 
chines are of practical assistance in marching and as an 
accompaniment to many games. At the present time 
arrangements may be made with dealers whereby ma- 



348 The Rural School 

chines can be purchased upon most reasonable terms. 
A word of caution with reference to records should be 
given. As it is possible to lower a child's taste for good 
literature by means of sensational novels, so also is it 
possible to cultivate a taste for music which is poor or 
worthless. Classical music, so-called, need not be any 
less attractive than the cheaper sort. Many of. the 
great masters have composed selections which children 
will enjoy just as much as the popular rag-time tunes. 
In selecting records or music, if you are in doubt, ask 
some musician for the names of compositions which are 
" good music " and possess melodies that will really ap- 
peal to the children and the ordinary listeners. It is not 
safe to trust the ordinary salesmen of records, since no 
musical knowledge is required for such a position. Trau- 
merei by Schumann; the Intermezzo from Cavalleria 
Rusticana; Rubinstein's Melody in F and scores of the 
airs from the operas and oratorios together with the folk 
songs of the various nations will always please any au- 
dience; and best of all they are melodies that wear. 

Frank A. Beach, 

Director of Music, 
Kansas State Normal College, Emporia, Kansas. 



Chapter IX 

PHYSICAL SCIENCE 

INTEREST OF THE SUBJECT 

Hardly a subject in the curriculum offers the rural 
teacher more practical and useful material than does 
physical science. To very many high school graduates 
the mention of physics brings to the mind only confused 
notions of mathematical exercises, but little understood, 
the whole idea accompanied by a feeling of discomfort 
and antagonism — all thankfully escaped at the end of 
the course. Yet the child is continually surrounded 
with physical phenomena, which, if properly explained, 
may become intensely interesting, and children from the 
fifth to the eighth grades are usually eager to have the 
" whys " of their physical environment explained. In 
fact, it is often found that children of this age are more 
easily interested in physics than when they have reached 
the last years of the high school. Furthermore, the 
majority of the grade pupils leave school before reaching 
physics in a high school course. 

Following is a list of experiments and demonstrations 
which can be performed with very little apparatus which 
may add wonderfully to the interest of the school. The 
list is merely suggestive. As much, or more, depends on 
the teacher as on the experiment, and each teacher must 
arrange, devise, and select those demonstrations in which 
he himself is interested, if he is to interest his pupils. 

349 



350 • The Rural School 

Two lessons are given in some detail. Children should 
be permitted to ask questions during the lesson. They 
will ask many which it will be impossible to answer, but 
let the teacher answer as many as possible and say frankly 
that he does not know the answers to the others. 

LESSON I: WHY HOT AIR GOES UP THE CHIMNEY 

We all know that the air is drawn into the grate of the 
stove and through the fire and up the chimney, but can 
we tell why the air goes up the chimney when it is hot? 
Let us stop a minute and find out what the air is made 
of. We usually think of air as some thin, " invisible sub- 
stance which occupies all space about us which is not 
filled with some more solid substance. But if we could 
see the air with a vision a great deal more acute than that 
made by the most powerful microscope, we should find 
the air made up of a great many fine particles all moving 
about among each other. Though these particles are so 
numerous and so closely crowded together, they seem to 
be trying to avoid one another; but they are flying so 
rapidly that they are continually running into each other 
and crowding each other out of the way. It is just as if 
every person in a. crowded room should try to run with 
all his might in a direction different from that of any one 
else. Of course there would be a good many collisions 
and a good many changes in directions for each person. 
The difference between hot air and cold air is just this: 
In the hot air these particles are flying about a great deal 
more rapidly and striking each other much harder and 
more frequently than in cold air. For. this reason they 
push each other away so that there are not so many of 
them in a given space as there are in cold air. 

Now we are ready to see why hot air goes up the 



Physical Science 351 

chimney. Suppose we had a large '' teeter board " and 
eight boys should get on it, four on one end and four on 
the other. If they are of the same size, the board would 
just balance; but suppose the boys on one end begin to 
push and shove each other until one or more of them fall 
off, what will happen? The two or three will fly up, of 
course, because they are lighter than the four boys on the 
other end. Now that is what happens to the hot air. 
We say that hot air is lighter than cold air. It is lighter 
just as two or three boys are lighter than four boys. 
Each air particle is just as heavy as when cold, but when 
they get hot, they push each other away so that not so 
many of them are left in the same space. Then the same 
thing happens to them as happens to the boys left on the 
light end of the " teeter board." The cold, heavy air 
from outside pushes in at the grate and forces the light 
air up to the top of the chinmey, just as the four boys on 
one end of the '' teeter board " forced the two or three 
boys up as high as the board would carry them. 

The same thing applies to the hot air outside the stove. 
It acts as if it were trying to get up to the ceiling, but it 
is really trying to get down to the floor, only the cold 
air is heavier and so gets under it and pushes it up. 
Whenever hot air rises, the same principle holds good, 
namely, it is being pushed up by cold air. 

LESSON n: PHYSIOLOGY 

In our last lesson we talked about the particles of which 
air is composed. We said that they were very small and 
were moving about very rapidly. To-day let us talk 
about the difference between these particles, for they 
are not all alike. If we should put four bushels of shelled 
corn with a bushel of beans and mix them thoroughly 



352 The Rural School 

together, we would have something to represent the air. 
The beans mixed all through the corn would represent 
one kind of air particles called oxygen, while the corn 
would represent another kind called nitrogen. Although 
there is only one fourth as much oxygen as nitrogen, yet 
the oxygen is much more important to us. 

Other substances besides the air are made up of very 
small particles. We shall learn the name of one of these 
and see why oxygen is so important to us. This other 
substance about which we wish to talk is called carbon. 
It is found in everything that ever grew or had life. All 
plants and animals contain some carbon particles. When 
carbon and oxygen are cold they may come against one 
another and move away again without seeming to make 
any change upon either. But if they are hot a very dif- 
ferent result is seen, for then two particles of oxygen 
will seize one particle of carbon and the three cling 
tightly together. This makes an entirely new substance. 
It is a gas like oxygen or nitrogen and will mingle with 
them in the air. If we should mix a handful of oats with 
the four bushels of corn and the one bushel of beans, the 
oats might represent the particles of the new substance, 
which is called carbon-dioxide. When the carbon and 
oxygen fly together to form this new substance, they 
become much warmer than before. 

Experiment: Suppose I hold this piece of paper up in 
the room. The paper is made of wood which, of course, 
was alive once, and so contains carbon. The oxygen in 
the air blows against this carbon but does not affect it, 
because they are both cool. But suppose I hold the 
flame of a match against the paper. This will heat the 
oxygen in the air where it touches the paper and at once 
the carbon in the paper and the oxygen in the air begin 
to fly together to form carbon-dioxide, and at the same 



Physical Science 353 

time they get very warm. We say that the paper is 
burning. Now, suppose I put this piece of burning paper 
into a wide-mouthed bottle and close the mouth. The 
paper soon begins to burn with a low blue flame and then 
goes out altogether. If I put a second burning piece into 
the bottle, it goes out the instant it gets into the bottle. 
The explanation is just this: The flame was caused by 
the oxygen of the air in the bottle uniting with the car- 
bon in the paper. When the oxygen was nearly gone, 
the flame was low and blue, and when it was quite ex- 
hausted, the flame went out altogether. 

Our breathing of air is in many ways like the burning 
of this paper. We eat some part of a plant or animal as 
food and this contains carbon. The blood carries the 
carbon to aU parts of the body, — let us suppose to a 
muscle in the arm. Then we breathe air into the lungs, 
the oxygen from the air soaks through the lung walls 
and the blood carries it all over the body, — part of it 
to the muscle in the arm. Then suppose I want to move 
my arm, what happens? A message starts from my 
brain and travels along a nerve to the muscle in the arm 
and, when it reaches the carbon and oxygen in the arm, 
it has the same effect that the flame from the match had 
on the paper. It causes the carbon and oxygen to fly 
together and form carbon-dioxide, this causes heat just 
as in the burning paper. In this way the body may be 
warmer than the surrounding air. But more than crea- 
ting heat, when the carbon and the oxygen unite, they 
cause the muscles to move and that moves the arm. 
This is an explanation of why running causes one to 
breathe more rapidly. A great deal of motion like run- 
ning requires the union of a great deal of carbon and 
oxygen and so we have to breathe rapidly in order to 
supply the oxygen. 



354 The Rural School 

Let us return to the burning paper in the bottle. When 
the oxygen in the bottle was used up, the flame burned 
low and went out. Imagine a bottle large enough to 
hold a person. What would happen, if a person instead 
of paper were put into the bottle? When the oxygen 
supply ran low, there would be no more of it to unite 
with the carbon and the fires of the body would burn 
lower and lower and, if the oxygen were entirely cut off, 
they would finally go out. That does not very often 
happen, but how many people sleep in rooms with the 
windows closed or open a very little way, so that the 
fires of the body must burn low. Many people think 
that fresh air means cold air, but we can see from this 
that fresh air means air containing plenty of oxygen 
whether it is warm or cold. 

LESSON III : AIR PRESSURE 

Another lesson may be given on the weight and pres- 
sure of the air. Every fifteen cubic feet of air weighs 
about a pound. One of the simplest experiments to 
demonstrate air pressure is to place the tongue against 
the roof of the mouth and try to draw it down without 
letting air get above it. It is air pressing against it 
which seems to hold the tongue against the roof of the 
mouth. 

Atmospheric pressure may also be shown by filling a 
tumbler level full of water and pressing over the top a 
piece of cardboard. If, while holding the cardboard 
firmly against the glass, the tumbler be inverted, the 
cardboard may not fall for several minutes, — till it is 
soaked through. The air pressure holds it up. Another 
good illustration may be had by soaking a piece of leather 
to which a string has been attached near the center. 



Physical Science 355 

Press the leather against a smooth rock or a piece of thick 
glass and observe how it may be lifted by means of the 
string. It is not the string which pulls the rock up, but 
the air under pushing it up. 

SUBJECTS FOR OTHER LESSONS 

Following is a suggestive list of subjects which may be 
treated as in the lessons above. The teacher should 
remember that he is under no obligation to stay strictly 
within the realm of physics. It is that which will be of 
help to children, not the subjects of a curriculum, which 
are to be taught, and whether it is physics, chemistry, biol- 
ogy, geography, or what not makes little final difference. 
Teach the child the things he wishes and ought to know 
about his physical surroundings. 

I. Expansion Due to Heat. 

1. Thermometers, construction, use; temperature of 
a schoolroom; temperature of boiling water; tempera- 
ture at which water freezes; things which affect tempera- 
ture, — latitude, altitude, evaporation, etc. 

2. Things from which thermometers may be made — 
mercury, spirits, water, steel. 

3. Expansion of iron — wagon tires, railroad irons, 
boiler rivets. 

II. Expansion Due to Cooling. 

Floating ice; bursting water pipes; the burst water 
bucket; a stick in the rain barrel. 

III. Making of Charcoal and Coke. 
The kiln; uses in stoves; furnaces, etc. 

IV. The Lime Kiln. 

Lime as shells of animals; limestone; the quarry; 
solubility in water; hard water; lime in soils. 

V. Cement Industries. 



356 The Rural School 

The limestone; the shale; the mixing; the burning; 
the grinding; the uses — sidewalks, water tanks, fence 
posts, blocks for foundations, building houses. 

VI. Water Wheels. 

Kinds — Overshot, undershot, breast wheel, turbine; 
uses — for mills, factories, electrical machinery. 

VII. Windmills. 

Construction; kinds; why it moves; uses — pumping 
water, grinding feed, etc. 

VIII. Physical Phenomena. 

1. Study clouds, rain, hail, dew, frost, snow, evapora- 
tion, condensation. 

2. Keep daily records of thermometer; study daily 
forecasts of United States weather bureau; discuss value 
to farmers and seamen. 

3. Study about lightning, thunder, Franklin and his 
kite, lightning rods made out of fence wire well grounded 
and sharpened to fine points. 

IX. Water Supply. 

In country, in cities; wells, their location; drinking 
water for school; cisterns; keeping water pure by aera- 
tion; springs — cause; diseases spread by impure water. 

X. The Sun. 

1. Compare with earth, as to size, shape, heat; influ- 
ence of each on the other. 

2. The source of heat and light, a. Heat, wave mo- 
tion, conduction, convection; b. Light, wave motion, 
speed, absorption, reflection, mirrors, lenses, prisms. 

3. Effect of sun rays on man, earth, plants, water; 
the perpendicular rays; the slanting rays. 

XI. Air Pressure and Expansion. 

Pumps, water and bicycle; bicycle and automobile 
tires; air brakes on cars. 

XII. Principle of Still. 



Physical Science 357 

In making alcohol, gasoline, coal oil; in making per- 
fumery (by distilling alcohol on flower petals). 

XIII. Crystallization of Substances. 

Illustrations: alum solution and a string, rock candy, 
snowflakes. 

XIV. Oxidization of Iron. 

Uses of tin plate: galvanized iron, wire, tanks, etc. 

W. G. Lewis, 

Kansas Stale Normal School. 

The following is offered as an illustration of the way 
in which stories may be used to teach the facts about 
physical phenomena. 

THE FAIRY CHILDREN OF THE OCEAN 

One hot summer's afternoon, away, way out in the ocean 
Old Mother Ocean was washing, " swish-a-s washy, swish-a- 
swashy," washing the shores of her islands. Her children were 
out playing and she said to them, " Don't go far away, I am too 
busy to follow after you." But it was so very hot that it fairly 
made them hop up and down, so one of the older ones said, 
" Let's go up a little ways in our tiny balloons." So off they 
started, not two or three, but millions of them. They did not ex- 
pect to go so far, but up and up they went, away up into the 
sky, and when they were started, they could not stop until they 
had reached the blue sky, ever and ever so high. Soon they began 
to be very cold, and the wind carried them off over the land. 
They were far away from home and some of the little fellows 
began to cry, their feet were so cold. Now, what do you think 
happened? Some of the older ones took the little fellows into 
their balloons and they soon started down. Their balloons 
were so heavy they could not sail any more so down they came, 
head over heels, helter-skelter, topsy-turvy, every which way; 
Johnny, standing on the porch, was looking up into the sky, and 
as one of these big balloons hit him in the eye, he said, "Oh, what 
a big — rain drop!" 



358 The Rural School 

Now they began to come down, just whole troops of them. 
Some ran down the roof through the gutter into the cistern. 
Mary, the maid, came and pumped up a great many of them 
into the teakettle and set them on the hot stove. My, but it 
was hot! Hotter than it had been at home. They began to 
cry, oh, so mournfully. Did you ever hear them? 

Some of them ran into the ground where it was very dark. 
They kept going down, down, until they met others, and they 
ran along together until they came to a place where they could 
see out. It was a well. Now what do you suppose happened? 
Well, I'll tell you. Whole barrels of them were pumped up into 
the water tank at the depot, and the big engine came steaming 
up Sh — sh — ch — ch — and stopped right at the tank. The 
fireman went up over the coal in the tender, took hold of the 
chain, pulled down the spout, and in they went. Then the 
engineer let them into the boiler where it was steaming hot. 
They did not know where they were, but they knew it was hot 
— the hottest place they'd ever been in, and they began to try 
to get out. They began to crowd and push in all directions. 
Once the engineer pulled a cord; this opened a little door; those 
near it gave a shriek, and out they were. Then he pulled a big 
lever and let many of them into a big box; now they began to 
push on the piston which turns the big wheels. Push, push, 
push, the wheels began to turn, the train began to move and 
out they came, going high up into the air. Some were so happy 
they began to play ring-a-round-a-rosy. Perhaps you have 
seen them playing this on a winter morning. 

Some of them that came down from the sky were sulky, and 
stayed around on the grass and weeds all night. By the next 
morning they were in a good humor and thought they would 
play a trick on the little boys and girls who get up early; so 
they made some pretty little beads which shone like diamonds 
when the sun came up. They left them on the grass and weeds 
everywhere, and when Johnny went out to get some of them, he 
only got his feet and hands wet; for when he tried to pick them 
up, they stopped shining and there were no diamond beads at 
all. The next night some of them thought that they would do 



Physical Science 359 

a more wonderful thing than make diamond beads; so they 
painted pictures on the windows, pictures of houses, trees and 
birds. John and Mary thought that Jack Frost did this, but 
it was the Fairy Children of the Ocean. 

The wind blew some of these fairies away, off over the land 
and up the side of a mountain. It got so very cold that they 
went to sleep and looked just as if they were dead. There they 
lay all winter, as white as they could be. But when the spring 
came with his warm sun, he said to the little Fairy Children, 
" Wake up now, it is time for you to go home." So one little 
fellow opened his eyes and then another and another, and 
every one of them began to scamper down the mountain side, 
running to the rivulet, then to the brook, — to the creek, then 
down the big river back home again to the ocean; and there 
was Old Mother Ocean still washing, " swish-a-swashy, swish-a- 
swashy," washing the shores of her islands. 



Chapter X 

GEOGRAPHY 

Interest and Scope of Subject. — Of all the studies in 
the whole program, there is none which can be made more 
interesting than geography. In order to do this, it is 
necessary to make it a study of real things, and not 
merely the gleaning of facts from a textbook. The 
teacher must realize that the study of geography should 
not be the learning of names of places and their location 
on a map, but rather a study of the earth's surface with 
the life, both of plants and animals found thereon. This 
apparently modest scope of the nature of the subject, 
is nevertheless quite comprehensive, embracing a great 
field for study and information. In studying the earth's 
surface, we not only consider the land with its mountains, 
hills, valleys, plains, etc., and the water with its seas, 
gulfs, bays, lakes, rivers, etc., but also climate, winds, 
ocean currents, tides, waves, temperature, products, and, 
last of all, man and his occupations and relations to other 
created things. With this vast field for exploration and 
study, surely there are few classes but can be interested 
in some of its features, for material for this work is at the 
very door of the rural school. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR ORAL OR PRIMARY GEOGRAPHY 

1. Begin at home and study those things with which 
the pupils are somewhat acquainted. 

360 



Geography 361 

2. Teach color, distance, direction, distance and di- 
rection of homes from the schoolhouse. 

3. Teach the seasons, the months of the year, the days 
of the week. 

4. Study about rain, frost, snow, hail, and some of 
their effects on plants and animals. 

5. Study about domestic animals, their names, food, 
uses. The following outline for the study of hogs will 
illustrate how a very common thing may suffice for 
several lessons of interesting study and become finally 
the basis of a good composition. 

HOGS 

Breeds: 

Color and characteristics of each breed. 
What fed? 

When and where sold? 
Where shipped? 

By whom bought? Market price? 
Where is meat sold? 
What do packers do with: 

Hams, shoulders, head, ears, tails, ribs, backbones, 

feet, fat, intestines, sides, etc.? 

This work may be carried as far as the teacher and the 
class are able to go and time will permit. Care should be 
taken to suit the work to the ability of the pupils. 

6. Have pupils tell all they know about the wild ani- 
mals of the locality, the wolf, the coyote, the rabbit, the 
gopher, the prairie dog, etc. 

7. Study the plants of the locality, wheat, corn, oats, 
alfalfa, etc. This study of plants may extend to the 
finished product; as. Wheat, — preparing of the ground, 
selecting of the seed, sowing, cultivating, harvesting, 
stacking, threshing, marketing, grinding, breadmaking. 
Make similar outlines for corn and other grains. 



362 The Rural School 

8. " Aunt Martha's Corner Cupboard," by Mary and 
Elizabeth Kirby, will furnish information for lessons 
about things in the cupboard; tea, coffee, rice, sugar, 
and so forth. 

9. The use of simple outline maps will add interest 
to much of the study about products. 

MAP STUDY 

1. Draw an outline map of the school ground, locating 
schoolhouse, well, coal house, hitching posts, etc. 

2. Enlarge the above map so as to include the section 
on which the schoolhouse stands. Draw section lines 
double, other lines single. Locate the farms and homes 
on this section and any other things of interest. 

3. Fill into the above map any streams, ravines, or 
" draws " that may be in the section. Find in which 
direction the water flows from this section. Encourage 
the pupils to find out these things from their own obser- 
vation. 

4. The map may be enlarged so as to include the dis- 
trict. Learn what the people produce: grains, cattle, 
horses, sheep, hogs, fowl, etc. Each one of these prod- 
ucts may become the subject for one or more language 
lessons. 

Product Maps. — If on this map are pasted the pic- 
tures of the animals raised on each farm and the grain 
and grasses grown in each field, it will add much interest 
to the work and prepare the way for a more extended 
study along the same line. Following the suggestions 
given above, maps may be made of the county, state, 
and country. Wherever possible, use the actual products 
for pasting on these maps, e. g. corn, wheat, cotton, rice, 
coffee, tea, coal, lead, salt, etc. 



Geography 363 

THE TEXT REINFORCED 

Concrete Illustrations. — The first lessons of most 
primary geographies contain necessary geographical ideas 
which can be taught from observation better than from 
the exclusive use of the textbook. Teachers should learn 
a lesson from the experience of an eminent educator 
when he went out with his class at recess and studied 
geography while they waded in the marsh. There are 
miniature capes, bays, islands, and peninsulas to be found 
in almost every marsh or creek; and, if the teacher can 
get a class to see these in their real forms, he will be 
giving to them first-hand information. This teacher 
in commenting on his experience with his geography class 
says, '' For the first time the real difference between 
studying about things through the medium of a book, 
and studying things themselves without the medium of 
a book, was revealed to me." 

Conversation and objective illustration should always 
accompany the use of the textbook. Air in motion, rain, 
day and night, and the seasons are all objects of experi- 
ence, yet they need to be re-observed and the facts about 
them need to be stated before the knowledge is secure. 
Connect the real things with the story of the book, and 
make use of the children's activity in examining, repro- 
ducing, drawing, and describing. Encourage them to 
bring to the school specimens of rocks, fossils, Indian 
relics, shells, samples of different kinds of wood, in fact, 
almost anything which enforces and illustrates the les- 
son of the book. Pictures are a never-ending source of 
delight and they are found in abundance in every good 
text on geography. The teacher should make good use 
of those found in the book and reinforce them by bringing 
to the class, and having the pupils bring others, illustra- 



364 The Rural School 

ting places of note and interest. These pictures can be 
gotten from books, magazines, postcards, railroad fold- 
ers, and advertising pamphlets. 

Imaginary Journeys. — In the study of Niagara Falls, 
the Grand Canon of the Colorado, Yellowstone Park, 
and other places of note, very interesting lessons may be 
gotten from the advertising pamphlets put out by the 
railroad companies. These can be had for the asking and 
may serve as a basis for an imaginary trip through South- 
ern California, a journej^ through the Rockies, etc. 
There are nearly always places of interest in one's own 
county or state which may be illustrated and made more 
real by the use of postcards. In the imaginary journey 
lesson, a wall map showing the route traveled over would 
be good to have. One can manage this by making a 
progressive map on a large sheet of coarse paper, or on 
the blackboard, if there is room. Keep up the conversa- 
tional plan all the way through, for the teacher cannot 
know where the children are in their thought unless they 
talk. Drawing is the best expression of form and the 
ability to make outline maps should be cultivated; maps 
of the small and rather simple form are better than the 
extended, complex maps of irregular shaped states. 

ADVANCED GEOGRAPHY 

In studying the grand divisions some regular order 
should be observed. The following outline will answer 
very well, and it will be found especially helpful in re- 
views. 

1. Location on the globe. (This presupposes a study 
of the globe and the fixing of the poles and equator.) 

2. Relation to other continents and to the ocean. 

3. Extent, size, shape. 



I 



Geography 365 

4. Details of contour. 

5. Large surface features, e. g. mountains, plains, 
valleys, etc. 

6. Climate. 

7. Drainage, e. g. rivers, lakes, and inland seas. 

8. Forests and prairies. 

9. Suitability for the occupation of man. 

10. Number and kinds of people. Their occupations, 
modes of living, wealth, homes, inventions, institutions, 
exports and imports, domestic animals, factories, etc. 

This outline may be modified to suit a country, a sec- 
tion, or a state. 

Geography and History. — Geography and history 
should go hand in hand. The one seems to reinforce the 
other. The knowing a bit of the history of a city, state, 
or country, helps to fix and hold its location in mind. 
" Stories of India '' read while studying southern Asia, 
will help to impress the geography of this country and 
make it more real. There are many such books that will 
prove excellent aids in this work and make it one of the 
most interesting and profitable studies offered in the 
whole school course. 



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